Encounters of the Fifth Kind
by Creature of the Grid
Summary: Seven years after Bulma's departure for Namek to find the dragon balls, Dr. Brief gets a message stating that they -Bulma, Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo- are alive; along with the coordinates to the very habitable planet they were currently residing. And so, they set into a seven year intergalactic voyage to escape from the two androids that terrorized Earth for so long. GhV.
1. Fall of the Homo sapiens

**Encounters of the Fifth Kind**

**Fall of the Homo sapiens.**

°000000000000000°

Year 769

Planet Earth

His hands were shaking as he held onto the crumpled piece of paper, after seven years, seven agonizingly _long_ years, he had news of his daughter's whereabouts.

At last, good news.

Dr. Brief allowed himself to smile hopefully, while looking up with watered eyes. The sky was shining with millions of stars tonight, now that there was no smoke to obstruct the view. He squinted a little, focusing his attention in a certain constellation. Yes, his daughter was alive in one of those seemingly tiny dots.

He lowered his eyes, staring in determination at the piece of paper again; it was time to get to work. Perhaps if he hurried, the spaceship would be ready in a couple of months. Although, he'd have to make a few arrangements, start with the schematics tonight and a have a rough sketch by morning. Then he needed to speak to Chichi –the message had stated that they were all safe and she had the right to know, after all, Gohan was her son- and Yamcha, he would be of great help. Maybe he could organize a descent crew –well, as descent as it could get with only a couple hundred of humans still alive and on the run.

The only problem here was the time. It had taken seven years for the message to arrive, that meant it would take them the same amount of time to arrive to their destination. That is, if he could manage light speed. Of course he would, he was not about to wait fourteen years more to see his daughter, not if he could help it.

That night he worked until dawn, and only stopped so he could get some food into that empty stomach and tell his wife the great news. An hour later he was back to work, from time to time his cat would meow to remind him to drink more coffee, or take a short brake. Ah, what a nice kitten he had. He patted his head softly and then set to work.

Later that day he called Yamcha and Chichi. He told them about the message and his plans of building a spacecraft. Chichi was ecstatic, she would be finally reunited with his baby. His poor baby, first kidnapped at the tender age of four, forced to live in the wilderness and trained to fight alien monsters –by another alien monster! To think he would end up stranded in space with only five years. Ah if only her poor husband hadn't been too late.

Dr. Brief worked himself to exhaustion every day, but it had been worth it. Four months later he had a perfectly functioning spaceship, able to travel at the speed of light, and with a capacity for 150 passengers. It was his magnum opus. As soon as he was finished he called Yamcha and together began looking for survivors.

°0000000000000°

Year 769, four months after the message was received.

Planet Earth

The petite girl raised her eyes from the nearly done puzzle as her dad burst into her room, panting slightly.

"Videl, honey, pack your bags, we're leaving." He threw two bags on her bed "I just found out, we don't have much time, hurry." He kept pacing around her room, grabbing shoes and whispering to himself.

Videl's eyes widened. That's it. Her dad had finally lost it.

"Huh? Where? What?"

"I'll tell you while you pack, hurry." He said quietly while picking some of her books and throwing them into one of the duffel bags.

"I just found out that Brief is organizing an intro… i-intraspace voyage or something. A search and rescue mission to find his long lost daughter. And he has a spaceship with 150 spots available. We have to get there _now!_"

Videl cocked her head to the side. Intraspace…? Was that a word? Well, she'll leave that for later. She quickly stood up, gathered everything she could at once and shoved it into one of her bags.

"They won't refuse me. I was the last to win the world tournament before those two demons appeared. They can't refuse me. We'll get out of this mess, I promise honey." The words were erratic, and so was his breathing. He kneeled, grasping her shoulders reassuringly.

There was a chance for survival, at last. They could finally be freed from the oppressive and violent reign of those two androids. Videl's breathing sped up, Erasa and Sharpener! She couldn't possibly save herself and leave them here –alone.

"Can I at least bring Erasa and Sharpener with me? You know they both recently became orphans, I-"

Hercules Satan could be many things, but he was no heartless monster. That position was occupied by two individuals wrecking havoc around the world right now. "Be quick Videl, we have an hour."

Videl nodded. She hastily gathered all her stuff into the 2 duffel bags in less than ten minutes and dashed out of the door, taking all precaution so she wouldn't be spotted if, by any chance, the androids were flying close by.

In less than thirty minutes she had dragged her two blond friends and their respective bags back home to her dad. Mr. Satan studied the three kids in front of him. They were all pale, and skinny –even that Sharpener boy. Their clothes looked more like old rags. Even their faces were filthy; those dark circles didn't help either…

"Here" he said taking a few pieces of wet cloth "clean your faces as most as you can –you too Videl. We should all look presentable"

This was their only chance out of this hell.

Once they were as clean as they could be, he opened the front door. "Let's get moving kids"

It took them several minutes to reach the big old warehouse, the door was closing as they ran. "Wait, wait!" Mr. Satan whispered loudly and the door pause long enough for them to get in. Unsurprisingly, the place was clustered with people, everyone waiting for their chance to get into the spacecraft.

Mr. Satan grabbed Videl's hand with one of his and Erasa's with the other one, and instructed Sharpener to never let go of his jacket. He then moved, subtly, to the front of the line. There was a woman, reading an old cooking magazine and a little boy next to him. He had to be quick if he wanted to be the next one up. He let go of Videl's hand for a second to take a rubber ball he had in his pocket. Inconspicuously, he let the ball roll away; making sure the boy would follow it. Videl frown, and was about to speak when her dad interrupted her.

"Ma'am" he said a couple of times until he had the woman's attention. He nodded toward the kid, who was happily chasing the ball. "Isn't that your kid?"

"Oh no, Goten!" the woman scrambled from her seating position on the floor to chase after her son.

Videl frowned, looking at the floor guiltily. What if that woman didn't make it because of them?

"Next!" it was their turn now. The man on the door didn't look up as he muttered "How many?"

"Four"

He blinked, raising his eyes. "Um, I'm not sure if this is allowed. There if a maximum of three family members."

"Please, these two are orphans" he pleaded sincerely. "I just can't leave them here alone."

"Listen, we don't have enough rooms to accomo-"

"They'll share a room, please" Videl cried inwardly. No, not with Sharpener, he's a fart-machine when he sleeps!

The man sighed, but let them in anyway. "Here" he said, giving him four empty name tags "You'll need them later" Their ticket to freedom.

As soon as they got into the ship they heard a woman yell "Yamcha! Why didn't you tell me I was next!"

"I-I'm really sorry Chichi, I... you can come in now. Here, your name tags." he offered pathetically as she stomped her way in, along with her son and her dad.

Videl took a look at her and realized it was the woman from earlier. Ah, thank goodness. She smiled lightly as Erasa teased Sharpener and his nightly problem. That was the first time they'd all laughed in weeks.

And so, at the tender age of twelve, Videl set to face the unknown. She was ready to leave the world she knew behind.

They were all ready.

°000000000000°

Year 776

Somewhere in space

Seven years. Seven excruciatingly long years stuck in this spaceship. And now they had finally reached their destination. She should've been excited, but to be honest she was a bit scared. Scared of the unknown. For god's sake, they were seven light years away from home. They were alone and vulnerable in space.

And she was the only one to realize the magnitude of their gamble. Everyone else was too busy daydreaming about the very habitable planet they were about to conquer and make their own.

_There could be things much more dangerous than the androids out there._

But Videl, she was ashamed to admit it, but she often thought there was something else in that planet besides Bulma-san and her friends; it was a habitable planet for Pete's sake, it was likely to have intelligent life! Aliens, bad, cunning and strong. Most of the time she gulped down those dark _stupid_ thoughts, but at times like this –when they were only hours away from their final destination, she couldn't help but wonder if they would be safe once they set foot on that planet. Once they stepped out of the cocoon of security that this ship provided.

She opened the door to her dad's office. Time to send those thought to the recycling bin.

Videl entered the room with a tired smile. "Hello dad." She said plopping into the couch closest to the door.

Mr. Satan let out one of those rare smiles, reserved only for his daughter. His little baby, all grown up now. Nearly nineteen years old "Ah, Videl, you're finally here. What took you so long?"

"I was in the training room."

"… and?"

Videl's face broke into an excited grin "this time it was four against one and I still beat the crap outta them! And Sharpener was one of them! Should've seen it dad, most of the guys there couldn't believe it!"

Mr. Satan smiled warmly "I'm really proud of you, honey"

"Thanks dad, by the way why did you call me? They said it was urgent."

Mr. Satan nodded toward the window. "We're almost there Vi" His office was one of the few rooms with a window –a real window, not a holographic image. And so, he was one of the few who could see the ship's progress… not that he could pinpoint their exact location, per se, but Dr. Brief kept him informed and that was enough for him.

Videl jumped from her seat and dashed toward the window, quickly scanning around. "Are you sure this is it?" she asked her father in a low murmur, to which he only nodded. "We're so close!" she only earned another nod. And people said _she_ was the one with communication issues. "Aren't you gonna say anything?"

"We're landing any minute now, so you better put that suit on while I make the announcement." She stared at the black bulletproof suit as her dad left. It had the official 'Earth Special Forces' logo over her left breast and a few pockets for ammunition and other stuff she might want to keep with her at all times.

Once she was sure the door was locked she began to undress. Good-bye to baggy shirts and comfy spandex shorts.

The time had finally come.

°0000000000000°

Year 776.

Planet SKP-4

Ahh, finally home. Gohan smiled to himself blissfully as he saw the little jungle he resided in, it had been a great idea to turn that cave into his home. He was now able to spot the forest-shrouded entrance, but only because he knew it was there, anyone else would just fly by. It was partly the reason why he had chosen this place to live. The other reason was because it was only a few minutes away from the village.

He told his space pod to start descending. To think that training had left him exhausted enough to use his pod, which meant he had wasted a whole day confined to this almost claustrophobic space… on the plus side, the pod had replenished his energy, and he had been able to sightsee! He grinned childishly, he even had a little souvenir. He looked down at the hand-made sword that one of the blacksmiths had offered as a token of gratitude when Gohan had saved his village from a flood. It had been nothing; really, he had just changed the course of the water flow so it wouldn't hit the village. Ah, Yardrats were so nice. It almost made him want to stay. Almost.

Once the pod was safely on the ground, Gohan stepped smoothly out of it, gingerly putting the sword on the floor as introduced his upper torso back into the pod to grab his bags. He still had to walk a short distance to get home so he grabbed his bags and tied the sword to his waist, and began to walk leisurely back home, thinking about his trip.

After a long span he was finally able to come back –and with a new technique! Ah, this planet had so much to offer, he never got tired of meeting new people and learning new stuff. He just couldn't wait to meet the Kanassajin community that had taken refuge on this planet, as most of the other creatures that lived here –including himself. The Yardrats, the aliens he'd just met, had revealed that they lived in a secluded region, halfway across the planet. He only needed to wait until the humans settled down on Bulma's village and then he was free to-

Gohan looked up, sensing Trunks' ki as he flew at a remarkable speed toward him.

"They're here! Gohan-sensei, they're here –the guys mom constantly rants about, are finally here!" the lavender haired boy yelled as he landed a few yards away.

"I see…" he said, smiling pleasantly "Your mom knows?"

"Yeah, she's on her way, but we can get there faster, come on!"

"Hold on." He was about to take off again when Gohan grabbed his shoulder. "Trunks-kun, I need you to wrap your tail around your waist and stay like that, understood?"

Trunks frowned, but nodded all the same. "Yeah… but why, Gohan-sensei?"

"Humans are very impressionable creatures; you'll come to realize that by yourself in a few minutes. That's why I need them to think we're humans, just for the time being. So, don't attack unless it's absolutely necessary –and don't show off." Trunks rolled his eyes but quickly straighten his expression at the warning look Gohan was sending him. Ah, so this was a serious issue.

"Yes, sir." He managed to say without stuttering. He always stuttered when his sensei had that, yes _that_, look. Well, he had a repertoire of looks that could, and most likely _did_, make his blood -or anyone's for the matter- run cold. And the worst thing was that Gohan wasn't even aware he could inflict so much… _terror _with only just one stare. Luckily, those glares were stored for special occasions, so most of the time he had an easy-going smile on his face.

After a few seconds of silence Trunks grinned heartily. Gohan's easy-going grin was back.

Ha! Gohan-sensei just couldn't stay mad at him. It was his curse and Trunks' blessing.

"Now go ahead and greet them. Be sure to be the first one there. I'll be there in a few minutes. I still need to drop this off and change out of my Yardrat clothing." He said, nodding toward his luggage. The small boy opened his mouth, surely to ask details about the trip but Gohan got ahead of him "I'll tell you all about it later" nodding the little Saiyajin set to work. He watched as Trunks tail wrapped around his waist and he gave an approving nod. "Now go!"

Gohan smiled softly as he saw the little demisaiyajin fly away, in the direction of the big spaceship. Hopefully the Saiyajin close by wouldn't notice… or worse, the Namekkujin. He grimaced. That would really be a hard first impression, green aliens.

He sighed, as he levitated and took off toward his home at neck breaking speed. In less than a minute he was back into his usual attire, which consisted on a simple cream bottom up shirt, a brown open vest with the collar popped up, dark pants and a pair of boots. He quickly clasped his handy tool belt around his waist.

Gohan grinned. He was ready to go.

°000000000000000°

"It's really quiet outside." Someone mumbled behind her. Videl felt the heat that only many bodies trapped in a small space could emanate. There were nearly 40 people clustering the main exit. 96 percent of whom were uselessly wondering what to do no.

She was getting tired of this. "And?"

The soldier fidgeted nervously. He was head of security? Where the hell was Yamcha! "Well, no one really wants to be the guinea pig! What if we are on the wrong planet?" bunch of fraidy-cats.

They all turned back to Mr. Satan, staring at him with big, hopeful eyes. "S-sir, what do we do?"

Hercule Satan gulped. Those eyes were silently chanting: please volunteer, please volunteer, please volunteer!

Li-like hell he would!

The young woman next to him rolled her eyes in exasperation, hastily making her way across the pool of bodies and heading toward the main exit, ignoring the loud beating of her heart drumming against her chest. She grabbed her custom made helmet –with a big 'SATAN' printed just above the clear plexiglass of the helmet- and threw an "I'll deal with it dad" over her shoulder.

"No, Videl wa-"

Too late. The girl had already opened the door that lead to the –probably very dangerous- outside.

It was sad to think that out of 40 men, his girl was the only one brave enough to step into the unknown. She had got that from her mother, for sure. Mr. Satan let out a defeated sigh.

She would never change, would she?

Damn his recessive genes.

°0000000000000000°

Once the access ramp was completely down, Videl stepped on it, blinking a couple of times as she tried to adjust to the sunlight. Her eyes watered slightly and she wasn't sure if it was the emotion, or the intensity of the sun, or…

A sun. It had been years since she had felt this warmth! She opened her still moist eyes wide in fascination as she took in the vegetation, it was mostly blue –even the endless ocean of grass was blue! Tall mountains to the west, where the sun was slowly setting, a big lake a few miles to the east, and north rested what seemed to look like a jungle. Her eyes caught two humanoid figures standing a fair distance away from the ship, both of their hands were visible and it didn't seem as if they carried any weapon. The tall one even waved a little.

Wait, what if they really were on the wrong planet after all? She gulped, tightening her grip on the gun.

The two guys were still staring at her impassively.

She sucked breath through her teeth. Uncanny.

Videl didn't know what to say, would they even understand her? Well, why wouldn't they? She spoke to herself in a soft, comforting whisper, "They're humans, after all."

"Hi" the tall, dark haired one said before she'd even opened her mouth. Videl lowered her gun a little bit, still on guard.

She'd seen movies before, what was that they always said? "Uh, hey. We come from Earth… in peace. We mean you no harm" she said faintly, staring at them, looking for any hint of violence. "Do- uh, the name Bulma Brief ring a bell?"

"She's my mom" Trunks answered bluntly, still staring at her. "On her way here, while we're on the subject." He sighed, this was getting soooo boring.

Videl let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank god, we're on the right planet." She then turned her head a little, addressing the inside of the ship and whispered. "We're on the right planet guys!" there was a series of cheers and ovations, and "whoo-hoo's!" as more heads peeked from the big door.

Gohan and Trunks tried to contain their laughter as they clearly hear all the whispers of excitement.

"You can take off your helmet, you know… the air is breathable." He said carefully, and then he spoke to the heads that were poking out of the ship. "And you might wanna climb down that ship, I bet you're all dying to feel the grass and all that –I mean, after seven years stuck in that ship…." Gohan trailed off, his words had triggered a mass exodus. Ha, not the kind of evacuation he had in mind, but hey, he wouldn't complain.

Were they all really that trusting?

Only the girl remained behind, still on top of the access ramp. He surveyed the crowd of eager humans, joyfully laughing as they took off their shoes and run around. Some of them feeling grass, that seemingly insignificant plant, for the first time. Well… as long as they didn't wander away, everything would be fine. Gohan signaled Trunks to keep an eye on them as he climb the ramp toward the girl.

"Hey"

Videl acknowledge him with only a brief glance as she finally took off her helmet and inhaled deeply. Ah, the air smells so much nicer here. No smoke, no artificial air, just pure _air_.

Gohan stared at the girl's hair for a second. Pigtails, really? He tilted his head to the side in confusion. He'd never seen an almost full grown woman wear pigtail before –not that it looked bad or anything… it was just different. Was that a common hairstyle among women on Earth?

Ah, he'd been staring again, crap… he blinked repeatedly to clean his head.

"Are you alright?" he offered hesitantly.

Videl turned to look at him quickly, but her piercing blue eyes soon went back to the mass of people still playing with the blue grass and staring up at the green sky or the also green lake a few miles downhill. They were really enjoying themselves, huh? "Hmm? Oh- yeah, I'm just keeping an eye on them." She scoffed "you know, my dad's the high commander or designated captain or whatever the hell he calls himself and he's out there fooling around. And where the hell is that Yamcha guy?" she scanned around the familiar faces. "Oh, there he is… goofing with my dad. What a great team."

Yamcha? Why did that name sounded so familiar?

"This is so unprofessional! Throwing caution to the wind, I can't believe those guys."

Well, she did have a point there. Gohan just stood there listening mutely as she rambled about security and protocol and all that nonsense just to hide the fact that she was afraid to step out of the ship. He smiled; she was the only one who'd stayed alert and suspicious. Huh, and her ki was one of the highest ki signatures of this bunch. Not bad, not bad at all.

"My name is Gohan-" he blurted out suddenly.

So sudden indeed that it had caught Videl by surprise. "What?"

"We- uh, we haven't introduced yet. My name is Son Gohan, and that one over there, the lavender haired boy, is Trunks… wh- what I meant is, the universe is a scary place, but while Trunks and I are here, I promise that nothings bad is ever gonna happen to you guys. You have my word." Gohan finished awkwardly, scratching the back of neck as he usually did when he was nervous. "D-don't take it the wrong way, I'm the head of the planetary defense committee and as such is my duty to take care of this planet… and now you guys are here so..." Damn, very professional Gohan. Way to go…

Videl furrowed her eyebrow in deep thought. Should she trust him? Her mind said no. Of course not, he was a complete stranger… but the only stranger she knew on this planet and from what he'd said this planet was not all that safe. For now, it was all they got. "I don't trust you, I mean, I barely know you… but you better not go back on your word or you'll have my fist on your face at the first hint of treason." She muttered the last words darkly as she extended her arm.

"Is this really how you close a deal on your home planet?" he joked, cheerfully shaking her hand. "By the way, what's your na-"

"Videl, your dad is asking for you! Hurry up, Bulma-san's already here!" her blonde friend exclaimed loudly, face red and out of breath, but smiling nonetheless.

"…And now you know my name." Videl stared at Sharpener blankly. She turned back to Gohan, who was waving at who knows who.

"It was nice meeting you, Videl-san, but I kinda need to go now. See you around guys!" he waved at them and then broke off into a –not fast enough, in his opinion- run.

"Wow, he's fast –must be the gravity of this planet." Sharpener scoffed, leading Videl to where her father was waiting. "Who the hell was he anyway?"

"I'm as lost as you are Sharpener." He was very suspicious, though. Better keep an eye on him. She narrowed her eyes, a nice little puzzle for her.

"And to speak to you so carelessly" he felt Videl's intense glare on his head and gulped. "I mean, no offense or anything –I've known you for ages, and let me tell you, you're not the most approachable person I know."

"That's not true!"

"Please, me and Erasa are the only ones you ever talk to! Well, us and that woman and her child."

Videl turned to glare at him, but it lacked the usual anger. "She's a nice lady, leave her alone"

Sharpener laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Weren't you the one stalking her years ago?" Ha, he got her there!

Damn it. Videl stomped her foot childishly. "Shut up, it was only because she wouldn't let her son play with the other kids, and I wanted to know why!"

"Hey –see! You're getting all defensive again." he argued, laughing lightly as he gave her a little nudge. She didn't have time to give him his usual punch in the shoulder, seeing as they had finally reach Mr. Satan and Yamcha. Who was currently chatting animatedly with Bulma-san. She saw that Gohan boy, beside Bulma-san, smiling lightly at the two adults, and then she saw the lavender haired boy –Trunks, glaring daggers at Yamcha.

Amusing, indeed.

As if sensing all eyes on her, Bulma paused her conversation with Yamcha to address everyone else. "Welcome! Ladies and Gentleman, you've arrived to planet SKP-4, please enjoy your stay. But I would advise not to wander off without one of these guys" she paused to wrap an arm around Gohan and Trunks, who were standing at each side of her "to guide you. Now, if you would please follow me back to the village."

There were murmurs of confusion everywhere. A village? Weren't they only five or six?

One brave soul decided to ask the question that was on everyone else's mind. "Excuse me, Bulma-san, a –a village? As in, more people?"

"Oh," Bulma turned to Gohan with a look that said 'You didn't tell them!' Gohan simply forced a smile, but Bulma kept her steady glare on him, making his (attempted)smile melt away. There was no sympathy for him today. He sighed, preparing for the worst. "I'm afraid I have some ground shaking news, guys. We're not the only species living on this planet."

The same guy from earlier snorted incredulously. "You mean, like space dogs and alien horses, and –don't tell me your monkeys talk!" Trunks shook his head, Gohan, on the other hand raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. That was a bit insulting –to his mostly inexistent Saiyajin pride and to his intellect. He knew now that he wouldn't like this guy.

Even Videl rolled her eyes. Marker could really be stupid…

"What a stupid guy, Gohan-sensei meant aliens!"

Oh, no…

Gohan turned to glare at Trunks, really glare at him. Thanks Trunks.

There was a second of eerie silence, before all hell broke loose.

°00000000000000°

So? What do you guys think?

It's a weird timeline, I know but… It occurred to me while I asked myself: what if it would've taken several months for Goku to recover from Vegeta's fight instead of a month? He would've been too late, and it would've been up to Vegeta and Gohan to beat Frieza, right? And then life would go on without them. Um, the last World Tournament, Goku's disease, the androids… I'm not sure about cell, though.

So, uh, tell me what you think, help me improve my mistakes… it would be nice to know if you like it too.

P.S: I didn't bother to classify it into SF, because really, what part of DB/Z/GT is NOT Science Fiction?


	2. SKP4

**Hiiii, Creature here! (Finally…)**

**First of all, thank you for all those kind reviews, you guys are awesome! There is no way to put into words the joy I feel whenever I get a comment. I'm always eager to know what you guys think. XD**

**By the way, it's been so long… hasn't it? Sorry about that, I've been really caught up with real life. **

**Oh, right… As you may have noticed, English is not my first language, so please don't hesitate to point out my mistakes (misspelled and misused words, or grammar… or anything, really) and if you have time maybe give me a couple of suggestions as to how I could improve. Thank you very much guys! ****J**** Btw, I left some review note at the bottom!**

**Encounters of the Fifth Kind**

**Chapter 2**

**SKP-4**

Her head was spinning violently, that was the only thing she was sure of right now. All around her people were murmuring, screaming, or even petrified, just like her. What was the meaning of all this? Aliens? They were not the only species on this planet, which could only mean…

_Hey, Videl, remember those thoughts you sent to the recycling bin earlier today? The ones in which we're not alone in the universe? Well, it's time to bring them back… _

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinki- no, wait, wait, wait, now was _exactly_ the time. This place was surely plagued with aliens and what not. She also had the small suspicion that humans were probably not the dominant species here, with them barely being a handful and all that… Great. Just great, they had escaped a planet with two androids only to end up in one full of (potentially harmful) aliens.

What were the odds of something like that happening? Was this some sort of cosmic joke?

_Lovely. _Videl thought wryly, now she felt like going home. She just wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep through this madness. She glanced at a certain spot of the star craft longingly. Boy, and to think that just a while ago she was blissfully beating the living dead out of Sharpener and the other guys.

The feeling of an elbow digging into her ribs distracted her form her thoughts. Damn it, it could only be Sharpener. "Videl, did you hear that? Aliens, who would've thought!" the blond whispered loudly into her ear, making her eye twitch. Finally some sort of reaction from her body.

_Of course I did, I'm not deaf Sharpener._ She really wanted to throw a sarcastic retort at him, or scoff, or anything, but she simply nodded, still too perplexed to do anything else. Sharpener chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders, "I know I'm a total hunk, but I never imagined my hunkness would leave you speechless, Vi." he joked, preparing himself for the usual punch, but the seconds went by and nothing happened. Her blond friend, noticing the lack of reaction, rolled his eyes and turned back to Erasa. Unlike Videl, her reaction had been far more interesting. Hell, even Lime and Angela had turned out to be quite a show.

In her catatonic state, Videl faintly heard Bulma-san trying to calm the mass of restless humans. She watched her turn to that Son Gohan guy for help but he was too busy glaring daggers at the younger looking boy, who in turn was repeatedly bowing apologies; the whole exchange would've been fun in any other circumstance.

Bulma huffed, muttering darkly to herself as she moved away from the crowd, bumping into Dr. Brief in the process. He had somehow sneaked behind her and was about to surprise her when she'd turned. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then Bulma broke into a watery smile, quickly embracing him. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Mrs. Brief appeared, stealing Bulma away for the old scientist. Videl almost smiled, it was refreshing to see Dr. Brief act this way. So happy. She could almost hear the laughter…

Videl's eyebrows twitched slightly, as her eyes narrowed. What was that?

…Wait. They were not the ones laughing.

The one sound that seemed to wake Videl was a muffled laugh coming form her right. She quietly turned, trying to pinpoint the person who was making that noise. Her keen eyes found the culprit soon enough. It was a chubby guy with untidy black hair named Yajirobe, she didn't know him personally, but he was a well-known coward; or as he liked to called himself, "intelligently careful".

Yeah right. He was a total coward, that's what he was.

What really intrigued her was the reason behind his laughter. He didn't look bothered at all, what was up him? Slowly she began to realize that others were relatively calm too. Dr. Brief, Mrs. Brief, who were too busy chocking Bulma to death with all those hugs, Yamcha… for some reason sulking in a corner, the old pervert, even little Goten seemed unfazed, he wasn't even paying attention to the whole mess of desperate humans, he had his eyes worriedly fixed on the ship… wait, where was his mom? Was she still inside? She had to find out. At least this would serve as a little distraction from this madness.

"Goten-kun" she whispered to the boy when she was close enough. Goten raised his dark eyes, giving her a shy smile, which Videl gladly returned. The boy was too adorable for his own good, even Videl had to admit that.

"Hey Videl-san" he said as she kneeled in front of him.

Videl's expression relaxed a little, feeling more at ease. "Where is your mom? Still inside?" she asked, nodding her head toward the spacecraft. She thought everyone had exited the ship.

The little boy nodded his head effusively, glad that someone had finally asked him. "Yeah, grandpa told me to stay outside, to see what was going on… but I don't wanna stay here, I just want to see if she's ok…" Goten's hands closed into tight fists as his eyes showed the worry he felt. He truly wanted to run back to his mom and grandpa.

Videl's eyebrows furrowed in concern. Chichi was one of the few people she could get along with, and the thought of her being injured worried her. "Really? What happened to her?"

"She fainted when she heard we were finally landing…" she let a sigh of relief, that didn't sound so bad.

"Well… I don't think there's anything left to see here, let's look for your mom, hmm?" she suggested gently, grabbing his tiny hand and heading toward the ship, Goten gladly skipping beside her.

Videl sighed, feeling a little less worried. Maybe things weren't as bad as they… sounded.

Maybe they weren't even sentient beings…

Yeah. Perhaps she shouldn't be so scared. If Bulma-san and the others were still alive and seemingly happy, how bad could these so-called aliens be?

* * *

><p>It wasn't very often that he got angry, but to say he was annoyed right now was a bit of an understatement.<p>

"News like this one are supposed to be delivered slowly, smoothly. You have to be subtle about certain things, Trunks…" Gohan muttered darkly, still pinching the bridge of his nose almost painfully. His eyes were shut tightly as he tried to chant a soothing mantra.

_I shall not lament my misfortunes. I shall not lament my misfortunes. I shall not lament my misfortunes…_

Gohan was restless, and when he was restless his tail was restless; crap, he didn't need this right now. _I shall not lament my misfortunes. _He tightened his tool belt around his waist… directly on top of where his tail was secretly wrapped. Stupid tail, stupidly growing back against all odds! _I shall not lament m- _And stupid mantra not working at all!

He sighed for the umpteenth time.

Trunks' voice interrupted his -useless- chant. "Gohan-sensei, I'm really _really_ sorry! It just came out, I mean, that guy was sooo stupid, I just couldn't help myself! I swear I didn't mean to be so… uh, blunt?" his apology ended with a pathetic mutter. God he hated when Gohan-sensei looked like that. It only meant his mantra chanting was useless, and things were never pretty after that…

Gohan opened his eyes once more, doing his best to ignore the whining boy pulling at his pant leg and begging for forgiveness. His tired eyes slowly found the crowd…Yeah, hell was _still_ breaking loose all around them, and _no,_ sorry was not going to make it any better this time. This boy really needed a lesson on subtlety. His tail gave another anxious twitch. Ha, when morning came he would make that boy work to exhaustion. One way or another he would drill that lesson-

"Hey, what's all this ruckus?" Gohan jumped slightly. He turned, and found Krillin a few feet away, watching the whole circus act with amusement. When had he gotten here? Had he been so focused on this problem that he had completely disregarded his surroundings?

Pathetic.

A seasoned fighter with his guard down. Hah, Vegeta and Piccolo-san would have a field trip if they knew. Gohan was glad that neither of them were around to witness his little slip.

Well, no use crying over spilled milk, from now on he just had to focus.

Gohan allowed himself to sigh in relief -or frustration, he wasn't sure anymore-, Krillin was here now, he could deal with this. The ex-monk was a lot better at dealing with this kind of things, anyway."Oh Krillin, where have you been!? I had to deal with this all by myself." he nearly whined, pointing at the mess of despairing humans helplessly.

The human fighter shrugged, patting him on the shoulder "Sorry squirt, Bulma asked me to set the decon showers and… without an instruction manual –well, let's just say it took me a lot longer than I expected." he trailed off, his voice getting lower with every word.

_Why would she do that, seriously? _Gohan scoffed, slowly raising an eyebrow. It was no secret that Krillin seemed to repel technology like oil and water, but this was just too much. "All you had to do was –never mind…" Nah, his explanation would've been useless anyway. He paused briefly and furrowed his eyebrows, remembering something else "and why do you insist on calling me squirt? I've been taller than you for over a decade now."

Krillin chuckle lightly, waving his hand dismissively. He was about to retort when the blue haired scientist and her new-found parents materialized behind Gohan, giving him a start. Seriously, again? He really seemed to be out of his game today.

"Oh good, Krillin, you set the decontamination showers. Could you be a sweetheart and organize them in two groups, males and females?" Bulma ushered him away, for the second time in a minute leaving a reply in his mouth.

Gohan chuckled, watching Krillin walk toward the noisy mass of earthlings. Ha, it would take a miracle for him to calm them down. A miracle. His eyebrows furrowed, as he stared at them pensively. He had those at his disposal… well, not quite, but perhaps Porunga could do something about t-

His rough master plan was cut short when Bulma's parents joined them. Before he knew it he was pulled into a bear hug by Mrs. Brief, or at least he thought she was, he didn't exactly remember her. Who would've thought she was so strong?

Finally letting go, Mrs. Brief beamed at him "Oh, Gohan-kun you're so tall, all grown up! And look at how handsome you've become!" she said, pinching his cheek lightly, like she did once or twice when he was a kid. Huh, weird how he could suddenly remember something so trivial, Gohan wondered as he rubbed his cheek lightly. Guess his cheeks had better memory than him. Speaking of cheeks, he blushed a little bit at her nice compliments.

"Ah, thank you very much, Mrs. Brief." Said a very flustered Gohan scratching the back of his neck as he laughed nervously. He heard her squeal a 'how cute!' while Dr. Brief chuckled lightly, a tiny black cat suddenly appearing on his shoulder. Gohan's smile lingered for a few seconds as he watched the tiny feline rubbing its face against Dr Brief's cheek.

There was a soft whimpering close by, and they al turner their attention to the sobbing guy on the floor. Yamcha -how long had he been there?- was in a fetal position a few feet away from Gohan, hugging his knees to his chest "And why are you still there? Stop sulking and help around, will you?" Bulma said, nudging him lightly with her shoe.

Gohan flinched. Ouch, poor guy. On the floor and still being kicked by whom he'd heard was the love of his life.

"How could you?" he simply whispered, still starting blankly at a rock by his head.

"Mom! Please tell Gohan-sensei I didn't mean what a said earlier!" Trunks begged her at the same time Dr. Brief turned to Gohan. "Gohan-kun, your mom is somewhere around here, why don't you look for her? She was really excited to finally be with you again." Gohan nodded shyly, not meeting his eyes, instead watching the poor guy on the floor, trying to conjure a plausible excuse to prolong that meeting. He didn't feel ready to meet his mom yet. What would he say to her, anyway?

"Mom, please! Gohan-sensei won't talk to me!" Trunks insisted, pulling at her sleeve urgently.

"Why? Why him?" muttered Yamcha from his spot on the floor, next to Gohan. Was Bulma planning on ignoring him the whole time?

"Oh, that's a good idea, you can surprise her!" exclaimed Mrs. Brief, clapping her hands. "you can sneak behind her and say:" she cleared her throat, trying her best to adopt a boyish tone (and failing miserably, by the way) " Yo, mom. Long time, no see, huh?"

If Mrs. Brief noticed the awkward silence that followed, she didn't show it.

Gohan squirmed uncomfortably. He blinked a couple of times and then turned to Bulma. "Can you help me?"

Bulma shut her eyes tightly. Just when she'd managed to break away from her insistent son Yamcha grabbed her foot. "I'm kinda busy right now Gohan, can't you see?"

After a moment of silence, Gohan finally said what was in his mind. "Bulma… I can't remember her. Her face, her smell, the sound of her voice… nothing. What if I can't recognize her?" his eyes watered slightly at the thought of not being able to recognize his own mother.

"She's not that hard to miss, really. Just look for a woman with a frying pa-" Yamcha's monotonous voice was suddenly interrupted by a well-placed kick that left him whimpering and nearly barren.

Bulma ignored him, turning to look at Gohan softly. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled motherly, the kind of smile she reserved for her two boys. "Gohan, be a sweetheart and double check those showers, ok? We'll deal with everything else later, don't worry." Gohan nodded reluctantly, his eyes downcast. Bulma patted him on the back, softly pushing him toward the decontamination showers. "We'll figure how to cross that bridge when we get to it." she said softly, knowing he'd listen.

Once Gohan had reached the portable showers and Krillin had somehow gathered everyone, she decided to speak up, raising her voice over the cacophony of voices. "Ok people, before we get to the village we need you to go through those showers and-"

"Are you gonna brainwash us with that thing?" Marker asked suspiciously.

Bulma's eyebrow slowly rose in a mixture of incredulity and irritation. "… No. those are just decontamination showers, you know, for safety reasons." she said slowly.

"Is it, really?" another voice from the crown asked, as more and more people started to feel anxious.

"Yeah, what if we refuse!"

"I'm not stepping into that stuff, it seems like something out of a sci fi movie!"

"Guys, let's just get to the vi- GUYS, would you just listen to me!? Once we get to the village, I'll answer all your questions, alright? But now I need you all to cooperate with me." Bulma said, on the verge of losing her patience. She breathed out and tried to calm down. "Look, these are just to wash away any sort of unknown contaminates that may come with you, you know, to eliminate contamination by an alien virus. That is to protect us and the planet. Now, to protect you we`ll get you vaccinated against the most common viruses here on SKP-4 with this direct injection of antibodies." she said cheerfully, holding a tiny syringe in her hand. Bulma grinned slightly. Yeah, it felt good to watch the fear in their eyes at the mention of a vaccine.

"Come on, it's not that bad. It doesn't even penetrate the skin - look" she said, catching an innocent bystander off guard as she pressed the syringe against his arm.

"Ouch!" he yelped, perhaps out of habit, but then frowned as he noticed he didn't feel any pain. " wait… it didn't hurt at all!"

"See? I told you." she said, turning back to the crowd. "Now, let's get going, we have a tight schedule."

There was a murmur of halfhearted agreement, before Bulma led the two groups to a pair of portable rooms, each with ten showers and ten dressing rooms. They were only a few yards away from each other. "Now, let's get this over with. Women to the right, men to the left, once you get inside strip off your clothes and step into the shower, one at the time. Two minutes per head, new clothes will be provided at the end. When you step out hand over your old clothes to this guy -his name's Krillin, by the way- and await for new instructions."

Gohan immediately moved to the left tent, standing next to the control panel while Bulma walked to the right one, grinning slightly at their terrified faces. It made this almost worth it. "Come on Girls, don't be shy. Who wants to go first?"

* * *

><p>It was a long process, but Videl and the rest of the Son family were finally out of the ship and, after two hours of waiting in line, it was finally her turn. Chichi was a few girls behind her so she had no one to talk to during the insanely long wait. She glanced around idly, her eyes stopping on the only person who could give her some answers. She watched him work for a few seconds, swiftly typing on some sort of tactile tablet. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration… or frustration, she added as an afterthought as she watched him raise his free hand to his face and rubbed at it fretfully, muttering to himself. She inwardly grinned at his discomfort, for some reason it was almost… refreshing after his goody goody act earlier on. As if remembering something she blinked a couple of times and returned to her suspicious stare.<p>

Almost like sensing her, his eyes easily found hers and she looked away just as quickly. It was always uncomfortable being caught staring, even if it was only a suspicious glare…

"Next, please." she heard the blue haired woman call her. She turned to her and to her surprise, the woman was regarding her with the same glare she had given that Son Gohan seconds ago. What was up with her? "Name, please." she said, and Videl noticed she had one of those tablets too.

Bulma gave her another piercing glare.

"Sa-Satan Videl" she stuttered quickly. Damn, not many people got that reaction out of her.

Bulma did a double take, studying her face intently "Satan? Are you related to the Commander, then?" she said, as she typed her name on the device and quickly scanned her face.

"He's my father." she answered offhandedly, still surprised.

Bulma blinked, frowning a little. "Huh, I don't see the resemblance."

"Yeah, uh, I take after my mom…" she said, glancing back at her dad, who was by now over the shock and joking around with a few crew members and allowed herself a tiny smile. After all, this was the man that had saved her and her two friends' lives. "… though, I've heard I've got his eyes." she added lightly.

"Now that I think about it, you do." Bulma said, her tone softening a little. She then turned her head to glance at the interior of the portable complex as if waiting for some signal. A few seconds later she nodded and turned to her again. "You may come in now, take number nine and wait outside when you're done, ok?"

Videl nodded, and entered the portable showers. She quickly spotted the big nine beside a dark blue curtain. She furrowed her eyebrows, frowning at the lack of privacy. They actually expected her to take a shower like this? Moving the curtain aside she was greeted by a sophisticated shower with a timer that was set on 30. Her eyes kept roaming the tiny room, but then did a double take, 30? She found the timer again and this time it read 24. Was that the time she had until the shower went on? She frowned, trying to find a place to put her clothes.

By the time she found it the timer was on 8, so she quickly started to take her boots off. Stupid skin tight suit… she glanced up as she found the zipper of her suit. 2 seconds left. She fumbled with it and managed to zip it all the way down as the timer went off and a cold liquid hit her face, making her gasp and choke.

…Great, real smooth Videl. They better not be recording this.

She took off the wet suit as best as she could and then stood under the cold liquid -what was it, anyway? Water? Some sort of gel? She couldn't tell- for the remaining minute. _Crap, why is this thing so cold!? _she though shivering slightly as she wrapped her arms tightly around her torso. There was a soft beep as the flow of liquid stopped, leaving her even colder. She looked around, quickly spotting another -this time plastic- curtain. Feeling self conscious, she tried to shield herself as best as she could before slowing moving the curtain an inch so she could peek around. Good, it was empty. The tiny space was some sort of dressing room with a stool in the middle and a set of clothes and a towel on top of it.

Videl eyed the bundle of clothes. _Huh, I wonder who puts this here every time someone steps in…_

Remembering that she was working with limited time Videl quickly began to dress. Once done, she grabbed her wet clothes and left, easily finding the exit.

She was greeted by that green sky again, and she inwardly smiled. It was kinda nice to be able to see the sky again. A sky that was not full of smoke or tinted orange by the distant flames of burning cities.

"Wow, you seriously took the shower with your clothes on? Ha, a bit paranoid, aren't we?"

Videl's soul jumped a few feet, she quickly turned her head to her left and found the short, dark haired man from before grinning slightly.

"I… uh-"

"No need to explain, you're not the first one, believe me. It happened to the couple of blonds over there." he said, pointing to the familiar blonds with one hand and taking her old clothes and putting them into a plastic bag with her name on it with the other one.

Hah… figures. There was a reason behind their friendship, after all, they shared the common trait of _moronity._

"How do you know my name?" she asked, once the blonds were out of her mind.

"Oh, well, Bulma sent me a message with you photo and name on it, so I can easily recognize each person.

"Ah… that sounds a bit creepy" Videl muttered pensively.

That earned a chuckled from Krillin "I'll be sure to tell Bulma, then"

"Wait, no! For some reason she has something against me…"

"Really? Huh, she rarely does that. Maybe you did something against one of her boys?"

"One of her boys?" Videl blinked, Bulma-san had kids? Hm, that lavander haired boy had her eyes now that she thought about it, but Krillin had said 'boys'... and that led to the question of who had she married? Krillin? No, he'd clearly said 'her boys'... she didn't want think of the other possibilities...

"Yeah, I mean, she can get really protecti-"

"Krillin! Get to work!"

Speak of the devil…

"I'm not paying you to chit chat" Bulma yelled from her station at the other end of the girl's portable showers.

"You don't even pay me…" he muttered darkly. Krillin then gave her an apologizing look and went to take off the bundle of clothes from the next in line, which was a guy this time.

Seeing as she was left with nothing left to do, she decided to use her time productively and hopefully get some answers.

* * *

><p>"Hey, you!" Videl said, as she got close to his station. She grimaced slightly as she noticed Bulma's piercing glare on her again, but quickly composed herself.<p>

"You forgot my name already?" Gohan said lightly, though his eyes remained glue to the screen of the holographic tablet in his hands, quickly going over the data base he was gradually building with every passing earthling.

"What's going on here? I mean, what's the meaning of all this?" Videl ignored him, feeling a bit guilty. Sure she remembered his name, but that would only prove that his name was relevant enough to remember, and certainly that would lead to misunderstandings. She cared, but only because she felt this guy was somehow hiding something important from them, and if there was something Videl Satan hated was a liar - and deliberately omitting information was lying too!

"Huh?"

Videl rolled her eyes. He wasn't even paying attention to her!

If she had to be honest with herself, this was rather refreshing. Not many dared to be disrespectful to her, what with being the daughter of the (self-proclaimed) High Commander AND last champion of the World's Martial Arts Tournament. Besides, she had worked her way up and earned a spot on the Earth Special Forces all by herself, being the youngest member of the team. And the way this guy and Bulma-san were treating her, like she was nothing special, made her feel somehow… well, different.

"What's the meaning of all this?" she repeated slowly, making sure of articulating every syllable clearly.

The black haired boy shrugged absentmindedly, not phased by her sour mood at all. "We're just creating a data base." he answered briefly. "Would you step aside? I need to scan the next one in line." he pushed her aside gently with the tablet so he was standing in front of the next guy. He lifted the contraption, scanning the face of the next human and then quickly entered the name and basic information. "Take number seven" he said to the young boy.

The nerve of that guy! He had pushed her aside, PUSHED her aside! "Should I leave, then?" she spat resentfully once they were alone again, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

Gohan raised his eyes for the first time, regarding her with a look of surprise. She had changed clothes. Well, obviously. Everyone had. But now, in the plain white long sleeved shirt, black spandex pants and dripping wet pig tails, she looked less intimidating… well sans the fierce look on her face, that is. Speaking of which, she looked mad and it seem like all that anger was directed at him. Was it something he did?

"No…" Gohan shook his head, clearing his throat. "No. Just stepping aside is enough. We can still chat if that's what you want." his dark eyes focused on her own, analyzing them for a few moments before drifting back to his tablet. Videl managed to suppress a shudder, there was a barely concealed dark edge in those eyes. Seriously, was everyone in this goddamned planet like that? First Bulma and now this guy. She was beginning to hate this new feeling of intimidation.

She needed to stand her own ground.

Videl scoffed. "Chat? I don't need to chat. What I need are answers, not meaningless chit-chat."

Gohan blinked. "Answers?"

"Yeah, nobody's telling us anything!" Videl raised her arms in frustration, flapping them around wildly.

He raised an eyebrow, eyeing her while he scanned another face. "Well Bulma said so herself, you'll get the long explanation once we get to the village to introduce you to the others. I'm not saying another word, not after that fiasco…" he ended his sentence in a dark mutter.

Videl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. This conversation was going nowhere. "This is a complete madness." There was an awkward silence as Videl stared at the floor pouting. She really wanted to know what the hell was going on…. Besides, curiosity was killing her! Now she had to wait like everyone else until they arrive to the village.

Something then clicked in her mind. _Wait… others? What did he mean by 'others'?_

Gohan saw her crestfallen expression and decided to throw her a bone. "Tell you what, once Bulma explains things out, I'll answer any of your questions -if they're reasonable, that is. Deal?"

She was about to complain, when she felt an arm sneak around her waist, making her jump slightly. "Videl-chaa~n!" said girl rolled her eyes, knowing very well who was the one pestering her. She turned her head and was meet with a pair green eyes gleaming down at her.

He was a well built guy with auburn hair and a cocky grin. Gohan frowned, he recognized him as the one who had made the stupid comment before. Yeah, he was the one who had started the snowball effect. He immediately disliked the guy.

"How many times have I told you, it's Satan- SAN for you, Marker!" Videl exclaimed, shrugging off his hand in one swift motion.

"Oh, you're playing hard to get again, huh? Come on, you don't have to play tsundere with me." he whispered, raising his eyebrows in what he thought was a seductive gesture.

Gohan raised an incredulous eyebrow. Hah, tsundere?… no offence, but she seemed all tsun and no dere. A girl like her was likely to be violent by nature.

Videl gagged, taking a step away from him and unconsciously closer to Gohan "Ugh, leave me alone before I beat the crap out of you."

Yup. Violent by nature.

Marker took a step closer "Don't be shy, Videl-cha-" Before he knew it, he had Videl's elbow deep into his midsection, not waiting a second she send an uppercut to his chin and then sank to the floor extending her right leg and rotating a full 360 degrees, successfully knocking him out of balance. The boy twitched one last time and then lay unmoving on the floor.

_Beat him in three simple steps. Not bad, _Gohan's eyebrows rose, as he gave her an appreciative nod. _Not bad at all._

"What are _you_ looking at?" she spat, glaring at him through slightly disheveled bangs. Videl then brushed imaginary dust away and raised her head with the grace of a fighter.

Yup, he needed to stay away from this girl, that was for sure. Well, after today he wouldn't be seeing much of these people, hopefully. Gohan shrugged, looking at her evenly. "Nothing. Nothing at all…" he broke eye contact, glancing at a spot just above her left shoulder.

Videl, being as curious as ever, turned around and immediately grimaced, noticing her blond friends and a two other girls heading their way. She gave a tiny groan when she saw that Lime and Angela intended to stick with them. Great, just what she needed, her daily dose of angelical lemon...

It wasn't that she hated them… she just couldn't get along with them, probably because they didn't have anything in common, except sharing Erasa as a friend. Speaking of Erasa…

As soon as she reached her, the blond girl tackled her into a bone crushing hug. "Vi-chan, you didn't wait for me!" Videl cringed a little at the sound of her nickname. She didn't mind when it was just the three of them, but when they were in public she felt really embarrassed. She tried to break away from her death trap but then noticed that Lime and Angela were still there and scowled, returning the embrace halfheartedly. They already thought she was some sort of emotionless brute, and well… she really did care about Erasa and Sharpener… she just saw the meaningless display of affection as a weakness, as something people could use against her.

She finally broke away, "Sorry Erasa, I was about to, really, but I bumped into this guy"- Gohan rolled his eyes- "and I thought I could get a couple of answers out of him"

Erasa laughed, pinching Videl's cheek and addressing Gohan. "That's our Videl-chan, always sniffing around for clues." she said cheerfully as Sharpener and the other girls laughed; even Gohan gave a lopsided smile, enjoying the small moment of embarrassment, as Videl's cheeks acquired a very crimson hue.

"Erasa, Stoppit!" Videl cried, trying to slap Erasa's hand away, but somehow failing miserably.

Sharpener shook his head, raising a taunting eyebrow at her "How can you beat the living snot out of a guy twice your size and not be able to break away from this weak and feeble girl." he said, nudging the fallen boy with his foot.

_Weak my ass._ Videl thought darkly as Erasa finally let her go. She had found something _slightly_ more interesting.

The three girls gathered around Gohan, smiling at him in ways that made him feel very uncomfortable. The blond one took a step forwards and battered her eyelashes.

"I'm Erasa, with an E"

"Um hi, Erasa Withanee, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Son Gohan at your service" he shook her hand gently, smiling politely at her. "At least someone has the decency to introduce herself."

The blond girl gasped dramatically, her eyes flickering between Videl and Gohan "You mean she hasn't even-?" Gohan was about to correct her, but Erasa raised her hand to stop him and then turned to her friend with a disapproving frown. "Videl! How do you expect to find a cute boyfriend if you keep being so cold to everyone!"

"I'm not interested in that sort of thing!" exclaimed the flustered girl.

Erasa ignored her, smiling at Gohan apologetically "Sorry about my friend, she's not really a people person."

"Erasa!"

"Oh cut her some slack Erasa, she has to be tough, she's the daughter of Mr. Satan! Anyway, this is Satan Videl, daughter of the High Commander and World Champion, Hercule Satan." sharpener said, staring at him suspiciously. "He's the strongest man on Earth." he added, narrowing his eyes at Gohan.

"Impressive- by Earth standards, I suppose. But you're not on Earth anymore, are you?" Gohan said, hiding his mocking smile behind a mask of polite indifference and then turned his head to acknowledge the only -conscious- boy present, missing Erasa's crestfallen expression completely, she was supposed to be hitting on this hottie and Sharpener had stolen her spotlight!

"Hey again Sharpener."

The blond furrowed his eyebrows, but nodded nonetheless. This was the first time someone had reacted with anything but awe to Mr. Satan's name. He told himself it was probably because this boy had yet to have the honor of meeting his hero, but that didn't stop him from glaring at him suspiciously. Sharpener noticed there was a pair of cerulean eyes also joining him. Good, if there was someone who could put pieces of a puzzle back together, it was Videl.

They were so absorbed in their glaring fest that they missed the two -until now- invisible girls cornering Videl and Sharpener's subject of investigation.

"Hi" the brunette said, smiling shyly at him. "my name's Lime."

"Oh, hey, I'm Son Gohan. Nice to meet you, Lime." he said, smiling back at her and offering his hand in a polite handshake gesture. The girl blushed and shook his hand happily. Gohan chuckled, perhaps not a all humans were as odd as Videl Satan. The girl hadn't stop scowling since he met her.

"And I'm Angela!" the red haired said, pushing Lime aside with her hip. "Got a girlfriend?"

Scratch that.

"Umm, hi there" Gohan said with a hint of uncertainty. This was getting awkward. "Uh… that's a bit personal." he muttered as he took a cautious step back.

Sharpener, getting fed with all that progesterone, took Marker by the cuff of his neck and dragged him away. He stopped by Videl and shot her a meaningful look that she caught right away. They bumped fists and he was gone, their bizarre exchange taking less than 5 seconds.

Erasa laughed awkwardly "Seven years stuck in a spaceship with no cute boys can do that to you." she said taking Angela and Lime by their shoulders and walking away. "Enjoy your interrogation, Vi-chan!"

Videl sighed, closing her eyes for a second. That had been really embarrassing… Seriously, her friends had no self-restrain.

'_Wow_' Gohan mouthed once they were gone. That had been rather… wow. "Your friends seem… alright." he tried to fill the uncomfortable silence that had fell after her friends had left. "They got over the shock pretty fast, huh?" he joked, looking down at his forgotten tablet. Odd, it had been a while since anyone had been through his post.

"Excuse me sir" he heard a tiny voice say as he pulled at Gohan's pant leg. "I've been waiting for a long while and I think it's my turn now."

Ah, speaking of the devil.

Gohan smiled, at least it was a kid now. He didn't think he had the patience to handle another teen. "Oh yeah, hold on a sec, little buddy." he said turning around, while preparing his tablet for another entry. "What's your n-" Gohan froze, staring at the boy with his mouth slightly open. This boy looked eerily familiar.

He felt something grab at his heart at the vivid memory of a broken body lying on a hospital bed grinning back at him sheepishly. He briefly wondered if his parents had moved on, starting another family… was his dad even alive?

Gohan blinked, why was he even thinking about that?

"…Are you ok, sir? You're staring at me weirdly." Videl snorted, making Gohan jump slightly. He'd nearly forgotten she was _still_ there.

"Sorry" Gohan quickly composed himself, nodding apologetically to the boy. "You look like someone I think I used to know, that's all."

"I get that a lot. My mom says I'm an exact rep… replee-…" he gave up and decided to start again. "that I look just like my-"

"Oh, there you are!" they all turned their heads to find a dark haired woman speed walking toward them, closely followed by Bulma, who was already out of breath.

"Goten, don't disappear like that again!" the woman huffed as she got closer, pulling at the boy's ear.

"Sorry mom" said boy muttered with his eyes downcast.

Gohan's eyes were met with a pair of onyx orbs, identical to his own. He lowered his eyes a little and found a dangerously looking frying pan on her right hand.

Was this…? Could this be…?

"Chichi, hey!" Bulma said as she quickly got to them. She did a few subtle hand gestures as she mouthed 'it's her' in Gohan's general direction.

Time froze for a few seconds as Gohan's heart skipped a beat - or two.

*-*-*-* -*TBC*-*-*-*-*

So… if you got through that looong chapter (17 pages!)… congratulation! I promise it will get better, I just needed to get that long introduction out of the way. There will probably be some explanations next chapter

RubySongbird: Thank you very much! And I'm sorry for the long wait.

Dracarot: I know, I just needed them to travel for a few years haha (I even read somewhere that a Sayan pod can travel that distance in a couple of hours… but I will address that issue later on.) By the way, you comment was hilarious lol. I completely agree with you. XD

Again, sorry for the long wait… and well, replying to your review until now.

Sid89: I guess you will find out next chapter J by the way, frieza did blow up Namek, but I will be explaing that next chapter. Thank you very much for you comment, I got some inspiration from it!

Zealmanclock lover: Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter. J

The0Blind0Writer: thank you very much, you have no idea how much that means to me! :'D I will be introducing all the survivors on the next couple of chapters. I'll try to add as many characters as I can remember! Lol

Your review was really insightful. You were right about a couple of things, and some of your theories were very close to what I had in mind, but I won't spoil it for you! Oh and btw, keep those theories coming! XD Once again, thank you very much and sorry for the long wait!

Books52: Thank you! XD

Darkryubaby: Thanks!

Aleaster: Thank you very much, that really means a lot to me! XD

I hope to see you all next chapter! :D


	3. Mommy dearest, is not what it looks like

**A/N: I am so so so so terribly sorry. I know I said I would update quickly MONTHS ago... but I had a huge writer's block and well... I won't make any promises... but I already started next chapter... I just hope it won't take me nearly as long as this one. Also, I'll try to write shorter chapters so I will take less time updating, (this one was almost 9000 words...) **

**There's another thing I want to clarify. A nice reviewer pointed out my usage of japanese terminology sooo... Dear Faen, I know what you mean, I too dislike when people overdo this, believe me. But I have a reason for it and I promise you will find out in time, thank you for taking the time to point that out. :) (Btw, I hadn't noticed I dressed Gohan kinda like Han Solo until you pointed that out! What a funny coincidence lol)**

**I really hope you enjoy this chapter... as it was awfully hard to write it. Anyway, on with the story! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Encounters of the Fifth Kind<strong>

**Chapter 3**

**Mommy dearest, is not what it looks like!**

Gohan took a good look at the woman standing in front of him. She had a few wrinkles around her eyes, eyes that somehow were engraved in his memory. He turned to look at Bulma once more, receiving an encouraging nod.

The woman froze for a moment, her widened eyes lingered on his face for a mere second, but she quickly composed herself. "Oh, please excuse him if he's bothering you, sir. He's a very energetic boy. Apologize to the young man, Goten."

The boy pouted, making small circles on the floor with his tiny foot. "I'm sorry sir…"

Gohan felt a pang in his chest. Here was his mother in front of him and she didn't recognize him. He felt his determination break… Maybe this was not the right time.

Maybe…. Maybe Bulma could tell her for him.

Yeah. That would definitely save him from the awkward "I'm your long lost son, mother!". Damn it, it would… if only Bulma would just turn to look at him!

"He was not really bothering him Chichi, Goten was just waiting for his turn on the showers." Videl said, taking Goten's side "he was actually very polite, right?" she turned to Gohan, who was observing them with a guarded expression, and raised her eyebrows at his lack of response. "Right?"

Gohan blinked, and his eyes shifted to Bulma for a second before he answered. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Um, I was actually about to scan his face." he muttered, his eyes landing on Goten again. The older boy raised the tablet and did a quick scan of his face. "What… was your name again?" he asked uncertainly, not sure if he really wanted to know. For some reason he felt weird around this boy.

The feeling was not unknown to him. He'd faintly felt it a handful of times before, especially when he saw children with their parents, and maybe that was the reason why he couldn't look the young boy in the eye without feeling a pang of… jealousy.

There were few feelings as nauseating as jealousy, Gohan hated it.

"Son Goten" his eye twitched slightly as he typed it down. Pff, _Son Goten_, they even had the same initials!

He knew it was wrong but he somehow felt… replaced. Gohan tried to push those feeling away, he really wasn't expecting a life long mourning from his parents… he was actually glad that they had moved on, but he couldn't help the aching in his heart.

"Age?" he grunted, trying to keep his expression as polite as he could.

"uhh… 9" Gohan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Nine? That meant Goten was only a year younger than Trunks… but he looked so scrawny, and his ki was not very impressive either. He briefly wondered if his mom had made him study through childhood too…

"…I see."

Videl gave him a funny look, he'd been acting weird ever since Goten appeared… Not that he hadn't been acting weird before. She idly watched him lead Goten into one of the showers and then mechanically turn to one of the few guys left in line. Funny, it seemed as if he were ignoring the 3 women present. She tried to focus on what Chichi was saying, but she found it a bit… difficult at the moment.

That behavior went on for at least 5 minutes, and he only turned around because there was no one else to scan. Gohan almost smiled when he noticed he was not the only one feeling awkward. Videl was fidgeting under Bulma's constant glares while his mom was chatting incessantly with them.

"And then that Baboon -no offence, Videl honey" Videl waved her off, not offended at all as she muttered a light 'none taken' "took charge of the ship not 2 days after we departed. Can you believe it?" She scoffed, raising her arms in exasperation. "couldn't even wait to see if anyone else wanted to volunteer!"

Bulma laughed lightly "What, no complains? Nobody else volunteered? What about Yamcha? He… could've done a decent job."

Chichi scoffed again, this time more effusively. "Bunch of cowards, all of them!"

The blue haired scientist sweat dropped. "That's a no…" she then turned to Gohan, with a strange glint in her eyes "Are you already done, sweetie?" the older Son nodded quickly, feeling the apprehension build in his chest again. Bulma was up to something, that sugary hint in her tone was as good as a confession. "Well, don't you have anything else to do here?" he shook his head quickly. "Anything you want to say?" another shake. This got a suspicious glance from Videl, who was still 'listening' to chichi's chatter. "Well then, I'll just have to try harder." she muttered loud enough for Gohan's ears only. She raised her left arm and his eyes fell on the shiny metal that encircled her wrist elegantly. It was her watch, he'd seen it multiple times before, but as many of Bulma's inventions, it was not only a watch. She quickly pressed a number of keys and them smiled at him impishly. Crap.

Not even 10 seconds later he knew exactly what she had done. Gohan narrowed his eyes at Bulma, who was cheerfully ignoring him.

Gohan scoffed,_ didn't want to get her hands dirty, did she?_

He felt a gust of wind as the running boy pull to a stop right in front of him. "_Please _tell me you're done. Mom said the sooner we get to the village, the sooner we get to eat, Gohan-sensei!" Gohan grimaced as his palm met his face with a dull thump, why was Trunks so…so! He heard a tiny snicker and had to refrain from turning around and glare at her. He would surely regret it later if he did…

Chichi's head turned in their direction so fast it nearly gave her a whiplash as her eyes widened comically "Go-Gohan you said?"

Even though the question was probably directed at Trunks, Gohan nodded shyly eyeing the pan cautiously. She grabbed his biceps shaking him slightly. Wow, she was pretty strong. "As in Son Gohan?" Once again, he simply nodded, still a bit caught off guard.

His heart was about to burst out of his chest. "Gohan. Yes, this is definitely my Gohan!", she exclaimed, sobbing into his chest "My baby! You were barely this tall when we last saw you!" she lowered her hand to her knee, still clutching him tightly with her other hand. "My, you're so tall" her hands moved to touch his cheeks, and his jaw, inspecting every inch of his face, as if the mere gesture would help her memorize his face. " and manly!" she finally exclaimed.

"W-Well… it has been fourteen years already…" _-Mom. _He wanted to add, but felt the word too foreign in his tongue. Maybe it was too soon… "This year I'll turn twenty."

Her eyes sparkled with such happiness as she kept them glued on him. "Oh, you've changed so much." she took a step back and gave him an appreciative nod. "You've grown into such a fine gentleman! Isn't he lovely; Videl?" Chichi asked, catching Videl off guard. This was her chance to openly glare at him!

She gave him a long, examining look. So this was Chichi's son, the one she had heard about. She had once over heard a group of people - the old pervert and Yamcha included- saiyng he was probably their best chance to defeat the androids. Yeah right, their best chance was to stay the hell away from that planet, not putting their hopes on a simple boy. But then again… she didn't know a thing about him, he was the son of two of the best martial artists in the world... yet he didn't look like much with that slightly baggy shirt and easy going smile. This Gohan was quite a puzzle.

Gohan cocked his head at her intent look, and that snapped her out of her internal musings. "Uh, dashing" muttered Videl dryly, remembering she had to give an answer. Well, that got her another glare from Bulma. _Man, what's up with her!?_

Chichi, who was oblivious to the sarcasm, smiled wishfully as her eyes glinted. "Oh, you two would look so cute together!"

Gohan choked on his own saliva.

Bulma and Videl quickly turned to gawk at her, speaking (for once) in unison. "Chichi, no… I don't think-"

"Yes, that would be absolutely perfect!" she clapped her hands, staring at the sky yearningly, probably planning their wedding.

Videl looked mortified as she waved her hands desperately. "No, really-"

Bulma protested again, seeing as Gohan was still catatonic. "Chichi, please be reasonable, they don't even know ea-"

This woman was crazy, and he was definitely ready to leave this place. Gohan subtly made eye contact with Trunks and rubbed his belly. There, a glint in his eyes… and yep, his job was done.

"Can we go now?" Trunks interrupted them with a hint of annoyance. "I'm starving, pleaseeee."

Ha, Bulma was not the only one who could use the boy's chronic hunger to her advantage. He masked his pleased expression by a look of pleading he'd secretly learned from Trunks, the boy could be pretty useful every now and then. "I'm kinda hungry too" Gohan blurted, praying that Bulma would take a hint and get him out of this awkward… situation.

Bulma looked irked, but nodded nevertheless. "Fine, fine, you two bottomless pits." she turned to Chichi and smiled apologetically. "I'll be right back." and she turned toward the mass of humans, not before sending the raven haired girl one last look.

Videl sighed miserably and turned to Gohan, who for some reason was looking really pleased with himself. "I think she hates me."

Gohan gave her a funny look. "You just met her, what makes you say that?"

She scowled at him, the tone he had used was just a bit too condescending for her taste. "I don't know, the fact that she keeps glaring at me?" she spat before she could stop herself. She quickly looked around, half expecting to come across Bulma's piercing glare.

_You keep glaring at me too… remember? _"Maybe she's just a bit suspicious of you. She does that a lot with strangers." Gohan said with a bit of humor in his voice.

Videl was about to complain but Chichi waved her had absently, her head still flying high on the clouds with thoughts of future grand-children. "Nonsense honey, it's just your imagination."

"M-" Gohan's eyes widened as he stopped himself on time. God, he was not ready to call her mom yet… " she's right, Bulma's usually a very nice person…" he seemed to remember something else. "unless you mess with Trunks, that is." he added quietly.

And then something clicked in Videl's head. Krillin had said 'One of her boys', that meant it was not only Trunks, maybe Gohan was one of her boys too. "One of her boys, that's what the bald guy said."

"Eh?" Gohan scratched the back of his head with a self-conscious blush, as his eyes drifted to the sky pensively.

_Oh god, what have I done? _Videl paled slightly. Oh, god. He _was_ one of her boys and she'd been giving him the evil eye ALL. DAY. LONG. No wonder Bulma hated her…

Trunks rolled his eyes and decided it was time to shed some light on these people. "Krillin meant Gohan-sensei and me. He's _my_ big brother." He stood in front of Gohan possessively as he glared at the younger Son. He had the feeling these people would take away his brother if he let them.

Goten furrowed his eyebrows, feeling the silent challenge in Trunks' words. "You can have him, I don't care. I don't see him as a brother anyways." he crossed his arms and straightened his posture, but he was still looking up at the -slightly- older boy.

Trunks seemed satisfied with his response while Gohan and Videl raised their eyebrows, the first in amusement and the latter in plain surprise, Goten had never been a rude boy. Why was he acting like this?

Chichi on the other hand…

"Goten!" Chichi exclaimed in shock as she looked at her youngest son who was frowning at his shoes. "You take that back this instance, young man!"

"But it's true, mom! I just met him…" Goten mumbled, still frowning.

"You'll have enough time to get to know each other, now apologize."

"…No." he mumbled as his voice broke a little.

Gohan huffed, chuckling lightly to himself. It looked like little Goten was feeling just as jealous as he had felt when he met him. Well, that made him feel a little less guilty.

But as cute as he thought this display of jealousy was, Gohan felt this was his chance to escape. He bit on his lip lightly, coming up with a fast excuse. "Let's go Trunks, Bulma probably needs our help. I'll see you guys later." Ignored. The other two Son kept arguing, ignoring him completely. Gohan sighed heavily, this was not how it was supposed to be. He had dreamed about it for years when he was younger, this was supposed to be a happy meeting, for Porunga's sake!

Ironically, both Son heard him sigh and turned to glare at the one who dared interrupt their argument. Gohan gave then a blank look. "By the way… what he said is true, he doesn't need to apologize, really." and with that he turned his back to them. "Let's go Trunks" he repeated softly.

Trunks nodded mutely, sensing his teacher's distress.

Videl gulped. She could feel the tension between mother and son, her eyes darted from them to Gohan and Trunks a couple of time. She had to decide between the lesser of two evils. Being stuck in the middle of a family fight or…

"W-wait! I'll go with you guys" Both boys stared at her with raised eyebrows. "I'm just going to find my friends. Jeez." she said after looking back at Chichi, who was still yelling at Goten. Crap, she was raising her pan! "What are you guys waiting for?" Videl hissed as she speed walked past them.

Gohan sighed dejectedly as he turned his eyes upwards, his pace slow and his eyebrows furrowing slightly. This was certainly not the way he had pictured this meeting in his mind…

At all.

* * *

><p>When the two demi-saiyans -and Videl, who had quickly found her friends and vanished- met Bulma, she had already quieted down the mass of chatting humans.<p>

She gave them a reproachful look, but the boys gave her a cheeky grin and her mouth twitched upward. She cleared her throat, "Well, now that everyone has taken a shower, its time to move on! Please follow me back to the village. Once we get there, we'll have lunch-" everyone cheered "and if we have time, a quick tour around town, so _please_ remember it's very… diversified." at the terrified look of some of them she changed her mind. "You know what? We'll leave that for tomorrow when you're rested, it's getting dark anyway." she said, looking up at the sky.

"Wise decision" Gohan mumbled to himself. It was a good thing that Bulma's home was on the outskirts of Havenville, their home village, only minutes away from it but secluded enough for privacy. Besides, this town was fairly large and, as Bulma had mention, very diversified. Namekians, Tuffles, Saiyajins and a few other races coexisted, because they had something in common, they were all refugees in Havenville. Scratch that, they were all refugees in SKP-4, the only native sapient species lived underwater.

Trunks snorted, snapping him back. "Wimps" he muttered, lest his mom heard him use his father's words.

Bulma turned to them. "Gohan, Trunks, take care of the back. Krillin and I will hold the front."

"Oh man… that means we'll get there last… fantastic." Trunks muttered dryly.

Gohan frowned, moving closer to get at whispering distance from her. "Bulma, is it safe? I mean, it's over two hundred people, someone is bound to get lost."

Bulma stayed silent for a couple of seconds, considering Gohan's words. "What do you suggest then, a couple of trips? It would take longer but it'd be safer."

"NO!" Trunks' eyes widened, that meant they would take way longer to get there and eat. "I mean, no. It'll be fine, we'll keep _track _of them, right?" he then turned to Gohan pleadingly "Right, Gohan-sensei?" _please, _his eyes begged him silently.

Gohan let out a long sigh. "Forget what I said… We'll keep track of them."

"Fine, I´ll tell Yamcha to stay somewhere in the middle, just in case." she then raised her voice. "Please stay together and don't wander away. The village's just a couple of miles away." the last was said as she turned around and started walking in the village's direction.

The two demisaiyans walked silently side by side for a whilr, Gohan shooting quick glances every now and then to the unusually quiet boy. "You look troubled, is something wrong?"

"I'm fine." Trunks pouted, digging his hands in his pockets as he kicked a rock… and managed to sent it flying away. He decided to change the topic. "How long do you think it'll take us, Gohan sensei? I'm really starving here…"

Gohan eyed him suspiciously as he gave a noncommittal shrug. "Not sure. An hour at most?"

"Oh maaaan… I swear this couldn't get any worse."

The older Saiyajin clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. "You shouldn't sa-"

"Gohan! There you are, mind if we walk with you?" Gohan gave Trunks a side glance as the younger boy hid his face in his hands in despair. He tried to hide an ironic smile as he patted Trunks' head empathically.

"Not at all." Three of the five humans beamed at him while the other two merely glared. Well… at least more than half of them liked him…

They were walking at a relatively slow pace -for the two Saiyajin, that is- and it was blissfully quiet for a few seconds. "So," The bubbly blonde girl started. Ah, so much for blissful silence… "what do you do for a living?"

_These people are so nosy… _Gohan pursed his lips ever so slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by Videl. "Uh, I'm head of the Planetary Defense Committee, and… I teach at a local, uh, academy. I have a few side jobs too." Gohan scratched his cheek thoughtfully.

"Now that I think about it… you're not carrying any weapon." Videl pointed out as nonchalant as she could, she didn't want to voice out that Gohan had already shared that bit of information with her before, who knows what Erasa would think.

Gohan gave her a knowing smile. That girl would not give him rest. "I don't need one." Erasa, Angela and Lime gave him appreciative looks, that made him realize that had sounded _slightly _cocky and tried to rectify himself. He took out a tiny silver weapon from an inside pocket of his vest. "But… I have this beautiful piece of Tuffle weaponry that would incinerate anyone in a second." he gave them an uncertain grin as they inspected the lithe gun. "How 'bout that, huh?" he added trying to sound friendly. "Let me just lock it and… here." He gave it to Videl so she could inspect it.

"It's really light!" she mumbled in awe as the others gathered around to look at it. There were mumbles of agreement as they stopped to pass each other the gun.

"Yes. Yes, I know, but keep moving" Gohan said as he put his hand in between her shoulder blades to give Videl a gentle push, as she was the closest one to him at the moment..

"I can walk, thank you." she grumbled with half the heat she usually did, still too preoccupied with the silver weapon.

"What else have you got hidden in there?" Angela asked, staring at his utility belt rather.. suggestively as Erasa and Lime giggled,. This made Videl and Sharpener roll their eyes and turn their attention once more to the new artifact.

"Uh…" Gohan, who was not looking at her, searched his pockets good-naturedly. He unzipped one over his right hip and took out a thin mate black object the size of his palm. "here." he gave it to Angela and then turned to Trunks. "Give me your communicator"

"What?"

"Just give it to me." Trunks gave him a funny look as he grabbed the communicator from his back pocket.

"These" he said, giving the other one to Sharpener, who took it reluctantly. "sheesh, it's not gonna bite you." Gohan muttered mostly to himself and then spoke louder. "These are communicators. It doesn't matter how far away the gadgets are, it will always receive the message. Even thousands upon thousands of miles away." Gohan rolled his eyes at their looks of childish amazement. "Fine, you can try it out. But stay _in_ the crowd!" he quickly showed them how to use them, as there were no visible buttons, and they were off. Well… most of them, Videl was _still_ scrutinizing the gun.

Trunks had a pleased look as he locked his hands behind his head, adopting a laid back posture "Well that will keep them occupied for a while." he really look satisfied, as if the idea had been completely his. He opened one of his eyes lazily, and as his eye turned to look at Gohan, it found something far more interesting. "Oh great, a garnle tree! I'll be right back." and with that he was off.

Videl raised her head at the sound of the foreign word. "A what?"

"A garnle tree. That one over there with the yellow leaves. See those purple fruits? They're very sweet and one of the most costly fruits around here."

"Really?" Videl asked skeptically, her eyes now solely on the tree, analyzing it. Yes, it was big, but it was not impossible to climb… it only seemed difficult because there were no branches close to the floor. The closest one was ten feet from the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gohan give a small nod. "Yes. It's because the fruits are so high up it's rather difficult to reach" in that precise moment they heard trunks' delighted laugh as he ate a couple of garnles, still perched on a high branch. Videl turned to look at Gohan. "Is not as easy as he makes it look…." he said faintly.

"Right." Videl said slowly, her eyes finding the gun once more. It was really beautiful in her opinion, it had an elegant golden filigree pattern on the handle which contrasted beautifully with the silver. Her fingers slowly followed the pattern. "Does it do much damage?"

"Oh yeah, don't underestimate it because is small and elegant, this thing _can_ do damage. And it's pretty useful since it's a silent killer. Even when you pull the trigger it makes no sound… and there is this certain alien race that's only vulnerable to this plasma-based kind of weapon." Gohan reach to take it but Videl pulled back.

"A while back you mentioned something like truffees. Is that another alien race? How many races are living in this planet?"

"Tuffles" he corrected her lightly. "yes, they are very smart. They have highly advanced weapons and technology as opposed to… other aliens who are just brute strength. They're really amazing." His eyes turned skyward "As to how many… I can't tell."

Videl turned to look at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "Why? Is that another secret?"Gohan blinked at her, geez, this girl was always so suspicious.

Gohan rolled his eyes as he sighed loudly, he smiled nonetheless. "No, I just don't know. I haven't met them all yet."

"You're a very important person, aren't you?"

The question caught him off guard, and for a second he thought it might have been some sort of indirect compliment "I-I wouldn't say tha-"

"Oh please, you're supposedly the head of the defense committee or something, you obviously know things, _classified information._" she hinted bluntly.

_Nope. Not a compliment, Gohan. Stop trying to search for the good in people all the time. _

Gohan raised his hands "Whoa, hold on Miss Conspiranoia… 'supposedly'?"

Videl shrugged nonchalantly, still eyeing him closely. "Yeah, it's not like you have a badge or something, and there's no one else to confirm it so you might as well be lying."

Gohan looked taken aback. "Why would I lie about something like that? Besides, I'm just not wearing my uniform today, ok?"

"This is an official meeting. _I _was wearing my uniform." She said, pointing her thumb at her chest.

"You're not wearing it anymore." Gohan pointed out.

Videl stared at him disbelievingly. "I had to take that stupid shower! You saw my uniform!"

"W-well… _I_ was out of duty and out of town… you know what? I don't have to give you any explanation." Gohan said hotly, the beginning of a frown forming in his face.

There. It was kinda fun to see him this worked up, specially because he seemed so calm and collected in front of the others. Ha, if only they could see this… "Ok, ok. Don't get touchy, I'll even give you the benefit of the doubt."

"You- wha-" Gohan stared at her blankly, was this girl being serious? "Why, thank you." He finished dryly.

"Hey, at least I'm trying to reach an agreement. "

Gohan rolled his eyes, though he was not sure if she was being serious. "That's right, what was I thinking? I should be grateful of _your_ benevolence."

"It'd be wise of you to remember that." Yes. Gohan decided she was joking.

"Very funny. Are you going to give me my gun back now?"

Videl gave him one last look and promptly sped off.

_What the-…_ Gohan's eye twitched as he exhaled loudly. "Hey! Give it back!"

* * *

><p>"FINALLY" Trunks yelled gleefully once they saw their home peeking through the tall trees that surrounded it. "I'm starving! Mom better hurry this up." he glanced at all the people waiting close by, as they both arrived at the bottom of the Brief's home, which sat beautifully on top of a small steep hill.<p>

Gohan chuckled, ruffling his hair slightly. "You're always hungry, Trunks."

"Yeah, but I'm extra hungry now." he grinned boyishly back at Gohan. His eyes then turned toward the long steps that led to the dome-like building and his grin widened. "Look, one of your lady friends." He nodded at a tuffle girl sitting on one of the lowest steps. She had a battered duffel bag next to her and a large riffle like weapon strapped across her back.

"Trunks! She's not... _please _stop saying that every time I talk to a girl." Gohan looked mortified, but then frowned at his careless laugh. "and stop laughing."

"_Gohan_!" exclaimed the tall girl with orange hair, suddenly standing up and running toward him with a big grin spreading through her face "_You're finally back_!"

Gohan caught her just as she was about to crash into him. He let her go and took a step back. "_Oh, hey Nashi! It's been a while, hasn't it?_" he grinned, scratching his cheek unconsciously.

"_Yeah_" She gave a breathless laugh, her cheeks slightly red "_I'm so glad to see you, I thought I'd have to leave without saying good bye._"

Gohan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion."_Leave? Where are you going?_"

Nashi rolled her green eyes good-naturally, waving off his worry. "_The old geezer asked me to be his guard on a delivery he has to make to Tarbeas. He's a little paranoid, you know, there's still some of Frieza's people on that quadrant._" Nashi shuddered. "_Man, I just wish he had a better 'ship... that thing is so old fashioned._" she joked lightly.

The dark haired boy chuckled and then gave a low whistle. "_Tarbeas? That's a long way from here, Nashi._"

"_Yup... a whole span, he said_." She gave him a sideways glance. She was about to open her mouth when a loud, raspy voice called her. She rolled her eyes and smiled at the ground. "_So... I guess I'll see you later, then._"

Nashi extended her left arm, reaching for Gohan's elbow, and he did likewise. They slid their hands back until their fingertips connected. It was a tuffle gesture he'd grown to like, it said something along the lines of 'go carefully' but it was quite difficult to turn that good-bye gesture into words. "_Have a safe trip. And if you need me, just call me._" he smiled, holding the black communicator in his right hand. Yes, he had his weapon and his communicator back, it had taken a while but he'd managed to take them back.

She grinned, waving her hand as she took off.

"And... you did it again, Gohan-sensei." Trunks muttered dryly once she was out of earshot distance.

"Did what again?" Gohan raised his eyebrows, turning to look at him.

The lavender haired boy frowned in frustration. "You spoke in tongues. Why would you do that? You have a translator on your scouter!" he pointed at one of Gohan's pokets. "Which you don't even use, at all! I just don't get it."

Gohan blinked, he hadn't realized he'd switched to tufflego* unconsciously when he'd seen Nashi. It happened quite often when he was with someone who spoke one of the few languages he knew. Luckily he was quite a fast learner and in a couple of months he could grasp the basics of a new language."There's nothing wrong in learning a new language, Trunks."

"But you overdo it! You know like 50-"

"10 and I'm not fluent in all of them " Trunks looked irked at Gohan's meek interruption.

"Fine, 10 languages and you still want to learn more! I just don't understand why you bother-" their conversation drifted away as they walked up the stairs that led to Bulma's house.

Unknown to them, there had been an audience. "He.. He's a ladies man…" Chichi had a terrified look on her face, even her lower lip was trembling from the tears she was holding back "and all because I wasn't there to raise him properly."

Bulma smiled, too used to Gohan's friendliness to take it as anything else. That boy seemed completely oblivious to girls advances anyway... "I think you're overreacting, Chichi…"

Chichi shook her head in dismay. "My poor, innocent boy..."

They heard a low, appreciative whistle beside them. "Who was that cutie?" Both of them turned to look at the old man with a drop of blood running down his nose. His sunglasses slid down his nose to reveal a pair of wide, sparkling eyes.

"Master Roshi, _please_!_" _Chichi slapped him lightly on his shoulder "This is serious, that girl was far too _comfortable _with my baby."

"It was just a question"he said raising his hands in mock surrender. "Besides, let him be, he's a man already." he added under his breath.

Apparently he had not spoken soft enough... "What did you say, old pervert!?"

"Nothing!" Master Roshi said quickly, not wanting to get on her bad side.

Chichi harrumphed, raising her chin "That's what I thought."

"That girl was hot!" Yajirobe appeared next to the old man, nodding to himself and giving the old man a thumbs up.

And Yamcha's head popped beside the fat 'samurai', nodding in approval. "She sure was. What is she by the way?"

"A tuffle girl, who happens to be Gohan's friend _and_ a junior member of the Planetary Defense Committee. If I were you, I wouldn't even think about it." Bulma shook her head at the trio's crestfallen expressions and pushed Chichi gently to move forward. "Anyway, let's keep going, I still need to make some preparations"

* * *

><p>Gohan stayed at the door, waiting for everyone to enter Bulma's surprisingly big home. On their way in Gohan had finally met his grandpa, who was more than happy to see him, and Yajirobe, Master Roshi and Oolong and Puar... although he couldn't quite remember any them. Also, there was a cat he'd never seen in his life, but claimed to know his father as a child.<p>

Soon enough most of the people had entered there were only a handful outside by now, Erasa and company included. Gohan's shoulders dropped. Why were they always last? Was that on purpose? As if his thoughts had been public domain, two of the girls – he couldn't remember their names- waved at him and smiled. He could only return the wave half-heatedly, for some reason those two girls rubbed him the wrong way.

"Wow, this house is huge!" Exclaimed a boy he now remembered as Markus or Mark... or whatever. He was rubbing his aching body and staying a safe distance away from Videl. Ha.

"It sure is! Is this your home too, Gohan?" asked the red haired girl.

"Home, yes, but I don't live here anymore." Gohan said as she pushed her gently inside.

Confused, she furrowed her eyebrows back at him "Wait-" Just when the rest of them were about to get in came a gust of air that knock them off their feet. Gohan, unfazed, raised his head to find 'the old geezer's' (as Nashi has so kindly called him) space ship. _Wow, she was right,_ Gohan thought with a grimace. It was really... ah unfashionable. It was one of those things you would find in an old horror movie, not that he knew any of them... he was just quoting Bulma.

He heard shrieks coming from the few humans left outside. Yup. It would take longer than he thought for them to get used to all of this. He nearly laughed as Marker scampered past him and into the hall in less than a second.

Sharpener pointed at the ugly vehicle, his eyes nearly pooping out of his head."Oh my god, that's a- th-that's a, oh god, a flying saucer!"

Gohan rolled his eyes, this was unbelievable. "You, uh, you came in a spaceship too, you know… and a much bigger one, at that."

"But this one is just like the ones on the movies!" yelped Sharpener clutching onto Videl who in turn was clutching onto him for dear life.

"Don't panic" Gohan said soothingly as Erasa and... Lime? made their way shakily inside. "In time you won't even notice them."

" You mean that _this_ is common here?" Videl asked horrified as she finally untangled from Sharpener's vice-like grip.

Gohan raised an eyebrow. How else did she think people left the planet?

"You'll have to get use to it." Snapped Trunks, who had appeared behind Gohan. He then glanced up at the older saiyan and his eyes look a lot less annoyed. "Mom's waiting for you." and with that he left.

Gohan turned to the remaining two, his eyes dancing with amusement. Their faces were an unhealthy shade of white. "Ok, guys, let's go." he said brightly.

Videl looked at him with wide eyes. "You can't expect us to just shake this off!"

The saiyan merely shook his head and pushed them inside despite their surprised yelps "Let's just go" Gohan led them to a great hall that surprisingly fit all of them comfortably. He wave at Bulma, who was already speaking, Chichi was close to her so he awkwardly waved at her too and she returned it effusively.

Bulma continued, "As I was saying, please make groups of 3 or 4 people and wait patiently while I distribute the capsule homes. They will be your temporary home while you find a better place, tomorrow morning you can go back to the ship to get your belongings." she moved to the other side of the room, where a glass door lay open, she took a box from a passing robot with twenty or so numbered capsules. She motioned for everyone to stand in line, and just before she started handing the down she added, "Oh, and dinner will be served shortly, several robots will be assign to take it to your temporary homes, as I'm sure you're all very tired."

Gohan raised his eyebrows slightly. Ah right, the capsule homes, each one could fit up to 12 people. they all had 3 rooms with two bunk beds each, a tiny kitchen and a sitting room. For a frightening second Gohan'd thought that Bulma planned on fitting everyone _in _here. At least this way they'd be outside, in the gardens._ Nice thinking_, he silently praised her.

"Once your group has a capsule, you can all exit through that door and pick a spot outside, we'll take the tour in the morning." there were murmurs of excitement as they all wanted to see this new capsule homes. Most of them were tired, and even though it was a little past sunset, it felt like they had been here longer –which in fact they had, they just didn't know it yet.

Eventually the room vacated.

Bulma walked to where Yamcha and company were standing awkwardly. "Here," she gave him a capsule "This one is especially for you guys, wait until everyone's asleep so you can bring your other two friends out of the ship." she said. She had spoken t Yamcha earlier and knew that Kamisama and Mr. Popo were still hidden in a room in the ship.

Krillin grinned, motioning for them to follow him."Come on guys, there's space next to my house, you can decapsulize there."

Bulma glanced at the 3 remaining families. Her own, Chichi's, and Mr. Satan's (with what being the ship's 'captain' and all that... she restrained the urge to roll her eyes.) "You can all stay here. I have a room ready for you" she said turning to her parents. She signaled for a robot to guide them, with a promise that she would stop by once everyone had their rooms. "There's one for you too" she signaled a couple of robots to guide the former Ox King and Mr. Satan, who thank her effusively, not before kissing her hand to the disgust of everyone else in the room. Videl and Trunks were specially scarred for life.

"I don't want to see something like that ever again." Chichi muttered, voicing everyone's thoughts.

Bulma nodded, wiping her hand on her clothes. "It's a shame my husband wasn't here to witness this, he would've broken his hands for even touching me." This earned a cynic chuckle from Trunks, though only Gohan heard his 'Oh yes he would've broken more than just his hands'.

"... Your... husband?" Chichi looked at Trunks intently. "Is this your son then?" up until now she thought this boy was just an adoptive son, like her Gohan.

"Uh... y-yeah. He's away at the moment, but he'll be coming home soon..." Bulma's shifty eyes looked at anything but Chichi. "You see... he's been really busy lately. There's this… hobby he's had for several years now. So when he's not working he's recruiting people like him from other plan- places." Bulma said vaguely, scratching at her cheek while looking at her other hand's fingernails.

Gohan, with his arms folded over his chest (a gesture he'd acquired from his mentors over the years), bent to reach Trunks' height "The prince's been collecting them like prices." the whispered joke had the desired effect; both of them made a sound akin to a giggle, but more manly as they enjoyed the inside joke.

This caught the attention of Videl and her partner in crime, as they narrowed their eyes suspiciously at the giggling duo, both of them unaware of the piercing glares they were receiving.

"You know, somehow I think they forgot about us." Sharpener whispered to his two friends, who simply nodded.

Sadly, not everyone was taking this as lightly as they were.

Chichi narrowed her eyes at the older woman, completely ignoring Sharpener. "Bulma, is there something you're not telling me?"

Videl's ears perked at this.

Bulma suddenly found her shoes utterly captivating. "Certainly not anything relevant enough, no..."

"Fine, so what exactly does he do for a living?" Chichi's left foot started to tap the floor, unnerving Bulma even more. How the hell could she tell her that the father of her son was the one who nearly killed her's AND her husband?

"I work for him." Gohan blurted out quickly. "He's quite... nice when you get to know him, actually. He's in charge of the local security." he said, stretching the truth until it was about to tear at the seams.

Chichi, for once, ignored him.

"Bulma" it was a dangerous whisper. "Bulma" she said again, now with a hint of panic and revulsion "don't tell me this husband of yours is that- that _**monster**_ who almost killed my baby."

It wasn't a question, and everyone felt the silent warning.

Now Bulma was sweating bullets. She just gave a tiny nervous laugh and shrug her shoulders helplessly. Feeling sorry for her, Gohan stepped in once again. "It's not really as bad as it sounds… he really did help us a lot back then, in his own weird way…"

Chichi immediately turned to Gohan, shaking him violently by the shoulders. "Why did you let this happen, why?"

"He's not that bad, really...!" Gohan yelped, surprised by her strength.

If possible, she shook him more violently. "He tried to kill you!" Gohan noticed as she let go of one of his shoulders to reach for something. He didn't have to see it to know what it was.

The pan.

"He_ **changed**_!" Gohan cried out as he covered his face. His tone caught everyone by surprise. There was a raw sincerity in it that wasn't there before."He changed, he even saved my life." He relaxed a little when Chichi lowered her weapon.

"He did?" she asked, perplexed.

"Yes" Gohan nodded and his eyes met Bulma's for a second and saw the gratitude in her eyes and he knew she wasn't expecting him to defend Vegeta with such conviction. But what he'd said before was true, Vegeta HAD saved his life, and he'd trained him – granted, his method was rather... unorthodox, but so was Piccolo's. – not to mention he was the closest thing, besides Piccolo of course, he had to a father. Suddenly he grew very self-conscious, "But we'll talk about that later, you should all rest..." and just like that he turned around and left.

Trunk's eyes remained glued to his back, long after everyone had turned their faces back to Bulma. "The boy's right, just follow the robots, they'll lead you to your rooms" she said wearily.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Videl found herself staring at the ceiling blankly. She had been tossing and turning for hours, trying to get some sleep. "Come on Videl, it's late. Go to sleep already!" she mumbled to herself as she turned once again.<p>

Results?

0

"… I think this bed is far too big for me." she kicked the covers away from her in frustration. "What's wrong with me? I should be fast asleep, this was a pretty eventful day and I'm tired. I _am_ tired…" Videl repeated that sentence like a mantra, but still it was useless.

She turned her eyes to the window. "What time is it anyway? I've been tossing and turning for hours and it was still dark out there. "She tried to imagine she was flying or suspended in space, but that turned out to be useless too. "Damn" Videl stressed the mumbled curse for as long as her lungs gave her air to.

Not long after that she heard a soft knock on her door. Crap, she had woken up someone. She stood up and opened the door slowly.

"…Vi-chan? Are you asleep?" Ah, it was only Erasa.

Videl gave her a dry look.

"Guess not. Mind if I come in? I can't sleep…" Erasa pouted, blinking cutely back a Videl.

The black haired teen sighed. "Sure, be my guest." Videl opened the door completely and let her in.

"So…" Erasa started, giving her a beaming smile.

Videl paled. Oh no, she knew what that 'so…' meant. Girl talk, and in this aspect Erasa was not one to yield. "S-so." she said awkwardly, trying in vain to find a way out of this talk. Sh faked a yawn, a big and ostentatious yawn. "Aren't you sleepy? Actually I was dozing off when you knocked."

Erasa gave her a bright grin, not believing a word she said. "Liar." she said good-naturedly. "this was a pretty exciting day, don't you think?"

Videl shrugged, getting into her side of the bed and patting the empty space so that Erasa would take a hint and dive in. "Yeah, I guess it was."

"You guess?" she asked incredulously as she jumped into the bed, making the other girl bounce a little in the process.

Videl rolled her eyes as she exhaled loudly through her mouth. "Fine. It blew my mind, ok?"

"There's no need to be sarcastic, _ok_?"

Videl sighed, resting her head on the soft pillow once more. "It was an interesting day, I'll give you that."

"It was. Know what else is interesting?" Videl simply raised her eyebrows but that was enough incentive for Erasa to continue "Gohan. He's so perfect! I think I'm in love."

"Lay off, Erasa. I've got my eyes on him." She glared at the roft intently. Oh, she would figure Son Gohan.

Erasa gaped like a fish out of the water. This was _so_ not like Videl. "Vi-Videl-chan! I never knew you were so… so bold! If you wanted him you could've just said so!" Satan Videl had FINALLY showed interest in a guy!

Despite herself, Videl couldn't stop her cheeks from reddening a little at that misunderstanding. "That's not what I meant Erasa! He's got too many secrets, and I'm going to find out, whatever it takes."

Erasa huffed, "You're no fun..."

There was another knock on the door and Videl gladly rushed to open the door.

"Space for three?" Sharpener asked grinning hopefully.

Videl sighed once more."… Sure."

Perhaps it was their company what had been missing before because she slept soundly.

* * *

><p>Later that night, during his nightly meditation on the roof, Gohan felt a quiet presence levitating carefully until he sat next to him. "It's late, why are you still awake?" Gohan chastised him lightly.<p>

No response.

They stayed quiet for little over a quarter of an hour. That was unlike Trunks, who was always complaining about meditation and silence and how boring all that crap was, so there was something definitely wrong now. "Trunks, is there something wrong?"

"Gohan-niichan..." Gohan raised his eyebrow, it had been a while since Trunks had referred to him as an older brother. Ever since he had turned 6 and claimed he was old enough to to be trained by Gohan. It was only on special occasions that the old 'niichan' would slip from his mouth. Trunks gave him a quick glace and then frowned at his fumbling hands. "Now that you have your family back … are things gonna change between us?"

So that was what was bothering him earlier. "The fact that my family is back doesn't mean I'll stop seeing you guys. Your mom is like a mom to me and you're my brother and... and I work for Vegeta." Gohan said soothingly, putting a hand on Trunks shoulder.

"Just remember that you're not replaceable, Gohan sensei. You're part of our family and no one could ever take your place. They don't know you like we know you."

this perplexed the older Saiyajin, Trunks usually kept his feeling for himself, and well, he was not exactly used to this display of... affection? "What's gotten into you?" Gohan smiled, but it did nothing to lift Trunks' mood.

"You're my brother, and my best friend, my mentor and some times you're even my dad... I just..." Trunks' voice broke and he took a deep breath. Truthfully, he was terrified. He had overheard a conversation between his mom and Mr. Satan, they were planning on returning to Earth eventually... and if Gohan grew to love his family again that meant..."Please don't leave us Gohan."

* * *

><p>Umm, so... I really really really hope you liked it. (it's 5:30 am here and I'm quite tired...)<p>

By the way, Gohan's past will come in the next few chapters, as well as the mystery behind Freeza's disappearance, so be patient. XD

Oh, and all the OCs that will appear? None of them will have a particularly leading role but remember they are in a completely different planet, so there ought to be new people. Lots of new people...

Tufflego: The language that Tuffles speak, but you knew that already, didn't you? and the -go? I spend so much time trying to come up with a name for that language... and well, 'Tuffleleese' or 'Tuffle-speech' or even worse 'Tufflish' just didn't sound quite right. So I'm just gonna use the japanese language suffix '-go' for all the languages. It's so much easier... I'm sorry if this bothers anyone... (No, seriously I am! D': )

As usual, suggestions and corrections are gladly welcome, especially if it will make me and this story improve. So, please, if you have a couple of minutes, leave a review. :)


	4. News

I'm truly sorry guys… I know it's been over a year, but I've been so focused on school that I've barely had time to write lately and when I finally do….. I get writer's block :'( Agh…Hopefully next chapter will be up by new year's eve, it's halfway done anyway.

So, a couple of things:

I'm trying First person POV with flashbacks and dreams.

Also, I had to cut this chapter into two so I could update faster. Maybe with shorter chapter I'll update faster.

Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, guys. Hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 4

News

"It's about time you woke up, brat."

I opened my eyes, but my vision was so blurry I could only see spots of different colors. I turned my head slightly toward the sound. Every single part of my body ached, and my chest burned. I raised a trembling hand to graze at my burning chest, and when I looked at it the only color I saw was red.

_Blood, no wonder it hurts so much_.

"It's just a flesh wound, now get up." The older Saiyajin grunted. "The Namekian will heal you later, we need to get out of here." What had happened? The last thing I remembered was an explosion… and Vegeta screaming that this was our chance.

"Wh-what happened?" I managed to croak out, fearing his answer.

I saw Vegeta's (still blurry) face turn to me harshly. "You blacked out, that's what happened. Now Freeza is searching all over the place for us and You. Still. Won't. _Move._" his face got dangerously close to mine and I could see pure loathing in his eyes. He hated me.

My cheeks reddened in shame as I looked down, trying to hold back the tears. Once again I had been useless in a fight.

Vegeta gave me one last look before turning around toward the exit of what I now realized was a cave. "I won't say it twice kid, either you move or you get left behind."

I stood up shakily, for once glad I had cried, because my tears had clear my sight a little. "Yes, sir." I slowly limped into the blinding light, but I never got there.

Some time had passed, but I couldn't tell how much. I just knew I was not in a cave anymore. The sun was burning my skin and making me dizzy, I felt like I hadn't eaten in days and had been fighting for a lifetime.

"You're useless, brat!" I felt a sharp pain as I got punched in the chest. A loud "umph" escaped my mouth as I felt my body crash into the floor. I gasped for air, feeling a piercing pain in my thorax. The pain was unbearable. "Pathetic" I winced as he kicked me, "Pitiful" he kicked me again "Worthless scum" Vegeta spat near my head. "A disgrace to the Saiyajin race."

I grimaced, shutting my eyes tightly as I heard him circle around me slowly, his footsteps echoing loudly in my head, fueling my throbbing headache. I felt sick. "If I have to make you go through hell and back to make you stronger, then so be it!" I believed him… and he did, for years on end he did.

I whimpered pathetically as a boot landed haughtily on my cheek. "Stand up, you filthy excuse of a Saiyajin! It's just a few broken bones, stop whimpering like a kicked puppy."

"B-but…" I just couldn't keep up like this. I winced as I tried to move my right arm, but it only brought hot tears to my eyes. I had never been so beat up. I felt… completely powerless.

So dying felt like this… burning pain.

I felt him drag me upward by the cuff of my neck. "B-b-but nothing! You think Frieza will stop because you have a couple of broken bones? Postpone the battle until you feel better? No. You need to learn how to fight with broken limbs. Now stand up before I break more than just bones, brat." the words kept resonating in my head each time louder and louder. His foul breath made me sick.

I felt him get closer. "Listen, Frieza made me what I am and I won´t stop until I have his head. He will pay for what he did. Now stand up, kid, you ain't dead yet" I felt my conscience slipping away.

Everything around me went black. "Namekian!" he was calling for Dende… was I finally dying? I felt like I was floating, the pain slowly leaving my body "Hey! Open your eyes, you pathetic wimp!" There was a hint of panic in his voice as Vegeta started shaking me violently until I stopped feeling.

Gohan's eyes opened abruptly as his face contorted into a soundless scream, his chest heaving frantically. Another nightmare. His eyes had a wild and dark edge as he tried to come back to reality, his breathing slowed but his eyes remained lost in the haunting memories. Teal-colored, they gleamed in the darkness as he blinked listlessly, the sun would come up any minute now. With a heavy sigh, his eyes slowly returned to their natural obsidian.

That had been his first lesson. Saiyajin got stronger in every near-death experience. Despite all his traumas, Vegeta had been a great teacher.

It was times like this that he was glad he was completely alone. Whenever this happened, he always forgot himself, a little bit of his humanity was lost as his grasp on reality was even weaker after the nightmares. In broad daylight he seemed to control it. When he was surrounded by people he had an image to maintain, he didn't want to come across a paranoid lunatic, but the truth was, he WAS a paranoid lunatic who couldn't even trust his closest friends and comrades. He felt isolated, unable to relate to anyone else. Gohan closed his eyes, his head hanging in defeat or weariness, he couldn't tell anymore.

He could still hear Vegeta's voice resonating in his head. _"B-b-but nothing! You think Frieza will stop because you have a couple of broken bones? No. You need to learn how to fight with broken limbs, now stand up before I break more than just bones."_

Vegeta had been true to his word, he'd broken him beyond repair with his training methods. It had taken years for him to put himself back together, and even then he knew he was never going to be the same Gohan ever again. And for that he was glad.

He let a long, weary sigh escape his mouth.

Well, he was definitely feeling better now, he might as well get a cup of coffee before his daily morning meditation, seeing as he didn't feel like eating any time soon. He methodically went through his daily routine. Luckily he did have a spare uniform here, as Trunks insisted he had to stay at least once every few span. Once he was ready, he closed his door slowly and headed toward the kitchen to prepare himself a big cup of that wonderful substance. Thank the Gods that thing grew virtually anywhere in the galaxy.

As he walked into the enormous kitchen Gohan walked directly to the coffee machine and grabbed a cup to fill it. A tiny smile finally graced his face. The cup he'd gabbed was a birthday gift from Trunk, it said in sloppy handwriting "To the best big brother ever!" He could bet that kid adored him more than anyone in the whole multiverse.

"You're always up before dawn." Bulma grumbled over her cup of coffee. Gohan jumped and almost dropped the cup. What was wrong with him lately? Was he that distracted? "Just like Vegeta." Bulma continued, completely oblivious to Gohan's reaction as she sipped on her coffee.

"Oh, hey Bulma, why are you up so early?" he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "Couldn't sleep?"

Bulma shook her head "I received a transmission from Vegeta's ship, he's arriving later today, probably after nightfall. Couldn't get back to sleep after that."

Gohan's eyebrows raised as he took a seat across from Bulma. "Really? He found the Saiyajin girl faster than we expected… I- I thought he was supposed to come back right after the welcome party… Now with Vegeta in the picture we might as well prepare for some sort of disaster" he half-joked.

Bulma slapped Gohan's shoulder in mock reproach. "Don't say that! He's capable of behaving himself."

_Yeah right. _Gohan snorted "Have you forgotten all the predicaments he's gotten us in over the years? There's a reason why he's not allowed to deal with these things. Remember that time when he insulted the daughter of that Tuffle diplomat?"

"Well, she got it coming, with the way she was throwing herself at him" Bulma huffed, remembering said incident. She took another sip of coffee as Gohan grabbed a cookie from the bowl in front of her.

He chuckled, swinging the cookie "There are ways of saying things, Bulma, and the way Vegeta said it was certainly _very_ rude." He took a big bite and smiled. _Quite entertaining, but rude none the less._

"He was just stating the obvious." She brought the cup of coffee to her lips again. "Anyway, what are you up to today? Are you going to join us on our little tour around town after our meeting?"

_Oh lord, nooo… _"Sure, I uh… just have to train and go to the headquarters to report myself but I´ll probably be free after midmorning, anyway, so yeah." Gohan laughed awkwardly, scratching his head. He was kinda hoping to spend his day resting and preparing his report for Vegeta. He had completely forgotten about the meeting. Yesterday, after everyone had settled in their rooms Bulma sent a Meeting request to Mr. Satan, her parents, Yamcha, Chichi and a couple of people. They were supposed to address near future issues such as permanent accommodations for the crew and the party amongst other thing Gohan couldn't quite remember right now.

"Great!" Bulma beamed. "Maybe you can even spend some alone time with your family" she punched him softly on his arm, giving him a radiant motherly smile.

Gohan sighed, rubbing his hands nervously. "I rather not…"

"What? Why?"

Gohan look at the table, his hands now clenching. "I uh… I don't feel quite ready yet… that's all." He sighed "It's hard to fill a 15 year gap in just a day, Bulma… I just don't feel comfortable enough yet…"

Bulma stood up, her coffee already gone and rubbed Gohan's shoulder in an affectionate gesture. "Well, don't wait too long, your mom might not understand it, Gohan." And with a final maternal kiss on his head she left.

Gohan's shoulders slumped, his tail twitched slightly in agitation. "Great…" _Why can't things get back to the way they were before…?_

Well… he might as well go out and start his daily meditation routine. That would clear his mind for a while.

- . - . - . - . - . - . - . - . - . -

Videl woke up early next day. Or at least she assumed it was early, sun rays were just starting to creep through the tall trees. It was absolutely mesmerizing. She turned her head slightly to the side and found her two friends still sound asleep. She smiled unconsciously as she stretched and quietly got out of bed.

She walked to her duffle bag and reached for two outfits. On her left hand she had her usual white shirt and on her right her official Earth Special Forces' uniform. She looked at them closely and finally chose the uniform, after all this was just their second day and this would cause a better impression on the meeting. Or so she thought.

She quietly made her way to the bathroom, mentally thanking the gods her room had one included, she silently closed the door and turned around. Videl look at herself in the mirror. _Still human_, she half-joked to herself. She shook her head, hoping their first encounter with extraterrestrial life wouldn't turn out catastrophic. She'd been tired yesterday and the topic had come and gone a couple of times in her head, but now, now she was fully awake. And it terrified her. The fact that she was now trapped in a planet full of alien life- ignoring the fact that she was now the alien, sort of invading their planet.

Videl sighed.

This planet would be her new home, those aliens would be her new neighbors, and this would be her new home. Well not _this_, this was Bulma Brief's home, she would need to move out eventually. She was definitely not going to be a freeloader.

_I need to get used to this new life._

Videl frowned as she took off her pajama and turned on the shower. She wound have to get a job… and socialize with all these strange… people. She quickly got into the shower and started washing her hair. _At least I'm not alone. I have dad, Erasa, Sharpener, Chichi, and hey, at least Gohan's not completely a stranger. That means I kinda know someone that lives here, that has to count as an advantage. Even if we don't really get along…_ and she had to admit it was mostly her fault.

Videl frowned. _Maybe I should just be a little bit nicer…. _

Once she felt clean enough, she stepped out of the shower, dried herself and got dress. She grabbed her boots and opened the door, casting one last look at her sleeping friends, she opened the bedroom door and left.

After a couple of minutes of wandering around Videl found the kitchen. It was empty but it had a note on the table. Videl got closer. _Hi, guests! _She read in her head _feel free to take a cup of coffee if you wake up before breakfast is served. –Bulma Brief._

Videl shrugged and filled a cup with said coffee as she sat on the chair closest to the window. She glance around listlessly, her eyes landing on someone outside the window. They immediately narrowed as she cocked her head.

"What…. The hell is he doing?"

Emptiness. Complete and utter emptiness surrounded him. He was completely aware of everything and nothing. He was one with the universe as his master had once said. Gohan inhaled deeply, feeling energy flowing through his body. He'd always found it amazingly relaxing to move in a certain rhythm that made chi flow through his veins, it was like a dance, like the old martial art of t'ai chi ch'uan mixed with ancient katas that he remembered from days past, back when he lived on Earth. The katas were the only memory he had of his mother.

It was his own meditation routine, Mr. Piccolo had taught him how to meditate and then he'd found out he felt more comfortable moving in a certain rhythm he'd created than being seated.

The leaves were dancing in the wind his movements were producing, almost as if following his unhurried tempo. The morning sun was warming his naked arms and creating a thin sheet of sweat on his brow. He was half-way raising his leg when he heard a tiny sound and opened his eyes, knowing it was Videl.

Yup, she was just standing there like a deer caught in the headlights. He didn't know her much but it seemed unlike her. Besides, her hair was wet and sticking to her face and neck and… man did those ponytails made her look years younger, Gohan noted.

"Sorry" she said meekly. "I just… I didn't-"

"It's alright" Gohan waved her off as he sat down, softly gracing the grass with his fingertips. "I was almost done anyway." His eyes were still lost, as if he'd just woken up. He blinked a couple of times as if to clear them.

Videl sat down on a nearby rock, and looked awkwardly around her. They were in some sort of garden, surrounded by high blue trees, in the center was a small pond. Her eyes returned to Gohan, as she tried to find some sort of conversation starter… in her own way. "Why are you up so early in the morning?"

_Ah,let the questions begin... At least she doesn't scowl anymore._

Gohan looked back at her and shrugged. "I usually wake up at dawn, my body is used to it" And it was true. When he was training with Vegeta he would usually wake him before the sun had risen, so he got used to waking up early ever since he was a kid.

"So…. what were you doing?"

"Meditating" Gohan answer telegraphically.

Videl frowned… that didn't look like meditation "And why would you do that?"

Gohan glanced back at her. "I do it to clear my mind before training and before I go to sleep, if you must know."

"Really?"

"Yes. You sure ask lots of questions"

"I do not. And I meant, aren't you supposed to be seated and not moving a single hair in your body?" Videl insisted, though, not with the usual heat.

"There is a place on the other side of the planet where the whole village chant in unison while they meditate, their movements similar to my own, it's really fascinating because they set a tempo with their voices-"

"Like singing?"

"Yep, you should-."

"That doesn't sound like meditation to me." Videl said under her breath, and then she mentally smacked herself. She was supposed to be _nice _to him. Why was it so hard?

"It. Is." Gohan muttered through his teeth.

Videl raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, I'm just saying it's unlike anything I know… sheesh."

Videl kept staring at him blankly. Who would waste so much time doing… well, nothing but silly movements.

Gohan saw her expression and sighed. "You've never meditated." Videl shook her head. "It's not boring or stupid, as you perhaps are thinking, it's quite liberating actually, you can free your mind in a way no other exercise can. You want to give it a shot?"

Videl Shrugged "Sure" her face full of skepticism.

Gohan patted a spot to his right. "Ok, come sit here."

"Wait that's not how you were meditating!"

Gohan raised his eyebrows as he patted the spot again. "Well, you're supposed to be seated and not moving a single hair in your body, aren't you?"

Videl sat dejectedly "Damn it…."

Gohan just grinned back at her cheekily. "Ok, let's begin."

Videl felt a shoe lightly tapping her knee, she opened her eyes to find Gohan staring down at her impassively. "You fell asleep…" Videl felt her cheeks reddened slightly as she looked away.

Gohan snorted, trying to control his laughter.

She self-consciously scratched her cheek. "Uhh… how long was I out?" she said as she stood up nimbly, dusting herself in the process. She was trying to cling to all dignity she had left.

Gohan looked at the sky for a few seconds as he pursed his lips "A little over an hour."

"What!?" she was completely mortified by now and Gohan decided to push it even more.

"You even snored."

Videl's face reddened to the point Gohan thought it would explode. "Ok, now you're just lying!"

Gohan just looked at her through half-lidded until she looked away. He grinned inwardly, Gohan 1- Videl 0. "Anyway, breakfast's ready, you should go."

Videl blinked several times, as if trying to come up with a retort, but her embarrassment won. "Uhhh… ok" she said weakly as she slowly –and awkwardly- backed away. By now Gohan was openly laughing.

When Videl was completely out of sight Trunks jumped from his spot on the roof. They both stared at the general direction Videl had disappeared. "Oh for Dende's sake, you have the patience of a saint, Gohan-sensei."

Gohan put his hands on his hips and sighed. "I know."

You must hate me by now, because I kept you guys waiting for so long (and I'm pretty sure this chapter sucked….), but please don't give up on this story. :´(

(By the way… here's this fanart of Gohan as an apology, you can find it here (just remove the spaces before dots) : artfulquiescence .tumblr post/97024645070/gohan-in-skp-4-fanart-of-the-fanfic-encounters if you want you can follow me, I'll try to post more encounter's fanart in the future or keep you updated, not sure yet. PS: if you like it please let me know, if you hate it please let me know too, let me know what you think! )

Now… a tiny excerpt from next chapter:

"Bulma" Chichi said with a voice so calm it almost seemed like the calm before the storm. "Please don't tell me you had a child with the monster who nearly killed my baby boy and my husband." It wasn't a question. The room fell completely silent.

Trunks shifted uncomfortably, staring at his feet mutely. Gohan put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Bulma forced a weak laugh "Now, Chichi, please don't be so hasty…" Chichi's breathing quickened and Bulma paled "Uh… Chichi…?" Bulma signaled Gohan for help, but it was too late.

Remember to review if you have time, it's always nice to read what you think, it makes my day


End file.
